Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Back from the Dead
by Canadian Sasquatch
Summary: After an unfortunate twist of fate, Joey, a short tempered teen, awakes into a world inhabited by unfamiliar creatures. With no other options, he must befriend a human hating Charmander to survive and, with a little luck, uncover the truth of why he became a Pokemon.
1. Awakening

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the Pokemon games or shows. This story is based of Nintendo's Pokemon Red Rescue Team. All characters (not the Pokemon shapes and names) have been created by me.

Just a warning before you start. This story contains a lot of swearing, fighting, vulgar scenes, gore and even some drug references. Any offense taken to some of the jokes should be treated as just that; a joke. It also follows the plot of the game closely at the beginning before veering off into more original chapters later on.

* * *

Prologue

The future is always uncertain. One can never know all that is in store for them for the next day. When the first settlers made their home on a lush island, they never expected their humble town to grow into a thriving metropolis. After centuries of rapid growth, the city grew to cover the entire island. The only creatures that still lived there could be found in the city's parks or breeding areas that raised them for food.

In one of the large downtown cores, a young teenager and his friends were walking home. Like the first settlers, they had no idea what fate had in store for them.

The group of four unwisely decided to take a shortcut through a well known alley. Unfortunately for them, a gang had taken over that area and didn't take kindly to new comers.

The group of friends were suddenly surrounded by the gang. They tried to fight back, but were outnumbered. With a size disadvantage, the smallest of the group went down first. The biggest of the four boys put up a good fight and one of the gang members took out a knife.

While on the ground, the small boy saw his friend being advanced by the knife wielder. Knowing that his friend didn't see him, he got up and tackled his soon to be killer. The gang member responded by stabbing the small boy instead of his friend. The knife sank into the teen's chest, piercing his heart. The gang members, realizing what they had done, ran from scene.

The stabbed boy lay dying the ground, with his friends around him. They tried to make him believe that he would be alright, but he knew that he was going to die. Tears streamed from his eyes, knowing that he would never live to see his family or friends ever again.

His heart started to beat faster, like it was trying to fit a lifetime worth of beats into his final seconds. He took one last shuddering breath, and slipped away.

As the teen fell deeper and deeper into the dark abyss, he thought he could hear a distant voice calling out to him...

_... your time has not yet come..._

_... this world still needs you..._

_... just in a different form..._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Awakening**

The sun shone brightly over the peaceful forest. Birds were chirping from the trees and a sweet, but faint, scent filled the air. A soft wind rolled across the clearing, ruffling the still grass. Among the blades lay a small yellow mound, its furry chest slowly rising and falling.

It woke up suddenly, gasping for breath. The sunlight hurt its eyes. At first it was confused by its surroundings and couldn't remember who it was. That moment of amnesia only lasted for a second before a flood of memories came rushing back him. He started to frantically pat himself all over and finally rested his hand on his chest, expecting to find a hole. It wasn't a gash or blood that he felt through the fur, but rather the fast, yet steady, beating of his heart. He let out a nervous chuckle, his massive gasps of air slowing down.

_'It was just a dream. You're still alive, you didn't die,' _he thought to himself reassuringly while scratching the fur on his chest. Something was off though, _'Wait. I don't have fur on my chest...'_

He looked down to his belly, hoping that his hands were lying to him. They were telling the truth and he saw that not only his chest, but his whole body, was coated in thick, yellow fur. He twisted his short neck to see if his back was the same. The sight nearly made him faint.

Other than having brown stripes across his back, he saw that he now had a brown and yellow tail. He moved tried to move it to see if it belonged to him. It flicked back and forth, the sensation feeling odd, but natural at the same time. _What is going on?_ He thought. As if to answer his question, a friendly voice came from in front of him.

"It took you long enough to wake up," it said. He turned to it and jumped back, his heart speeding up again.

In front of him was a large, orange lizard. It stood on its two feet, a fact that really confused him. He looked at its tail which had a small flame on it. It took Joey a while to realize that the lizard was talking.

"What's your name?" it asked. He stared blankly at it. The lizard sighed and repeated the question.

"Uhhhh...Joey. My... my name's Joey," the yellow creature said. The lizard cocked its head slightly at the answer. Joey asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... it's just... I've never heard of a Pokémon named Joey before," mumbled the lizard. Joey was taken aback, but it continued, "Anyways, my name is Smokey. I saw you passed out and came over to see if you nee-"

"Wait, what did you say we were?" said Joey, cutting Smokey off, "What's a Pokémon?"

"I am a Pokémon," Smokey stated, not really sure what he was asking, "You are also a Pokémon. Pokémon is a general term, there are many different kinds. I'm a Charmander and you're a Pikachu. Did you hit your head or something?"

The explanation didn't have the intended affect on Joey as Smokey thought it would. He thought it would make the confused Pokémon happy or relieved, but his reaction was the opposite. The Pikachu's face became even more confused, then angry.

"But that's impossible!" Joey exclaimed angrily, "I've never heard of a Pokémon, and now I've been changed into one? That doesn't make sense! I'm a human!"

At the last sentence, Smokey's tail flame flared up to half his size and smoke billowed from his nostrils. Joey knew he said something wrong.

"Don't say that," he said in a very serious tone, "humans are evil creatures. They are nothing like Pokémon. Trust me when I say that there is no way you are human."

Joey was about to argue back when something told him that would not be the wisest of plans. This thing hated humans and he had clearly been changed into one of Smokey's kind. He thought of a way to use this turn of events to his advantage and cracked into a wide grin.

"I got you good," he said, using a convincing laugh to help with the lie, "I was just messing with you. I do that a lot. I mean, how could I forget what I am?"

"Good, you had me worried there for a sec," sighed Smokey, "you have no idea how much I hate humans, especially trainers. They capture us and force us to fight for their amusement. If I saw one, I wouldn't hesitate to kill it."

Joey just stared wide-eyed at the larger Pokémon. His tail flame was almost as large as the Pikachu and dark smoke poured from his nostrils. He could not let him know his true identity. When Smokey calmed down, he turned back to Joey.

"So, where did you come from?" he asked Joey. Joey thought fast to come up with a lie.

"Oh...I...uh, escaped from my trainer," he said, "Yeah, I broke free and ran away. And before I left, I set all of his other Pokémon free too. "

"Wow... that's impressive," Smokey complimented, "apparently it's hard to escape Pokéballs, but you managed to free yourself and others too? I wish I could get that chance."

Thinking quickly, Joey thought of a way to remove any suspicion from him, "wait, but in order for you to escape a Pokéball, you have to be captured," said Joey, putting on a face of confusion, "I thought you hated trainers. Why would you ever want to be captured?"

"Wait, no I-I didn't mean, like, you know, I want to be captured. I'm just saying, if I was in that situation, not that I want to, I would want to do what you did."

Joey started to laugh at the Charmander's awkwardness. He put Smokey on the spot causing him to mess up his explanation. Smokey frowned when he realized that Joey was messing with him.

"Not cool," he told Joey. Joey stopped laughing, not wanting to upset Smokey, but a grin still remained on his face, "look, you seem like a cool guy, and you I'm guessing that you don't really know this place that well. Maybe I can show you around and help you get to know the island better?"

Joey was stunned by the offer momentarily. Gaining Smokey's trust seemed to be much easier than he anticipated. He got over the shock quickly and replaced the confused look with the old grin.

"Okay, I'm down," he said and gave Smokey a friendly jab in the ribs. Smokey grinned also and returned the jab. Who knows, maybe they could actually become friends, providing that Smokey never found out about his past.

There was something that could never leave Joey, no matter how good his friendship with Smokey got. He was human before. He remembered everything from his past life. And nothing could change the fact that when he was human, he had died. He had felt his heart stop beating.

The final seconds of his human life came back to him. A far off voice had said something that sent a shiver up his spine when he remembered.

He had been sent back to the land of the living for a reason. Now, in a world filled with creatures that were hostile to his kind, he would have to adapt quickly to survive. Luckily for him, his past life and quick thinking made it easy for him to adjust fast. Those might be the skills he needs if he wants to find out why he is back from the dead.


	2. Butterfee's Dilemma

Joey and Smokey were walking aimlessly through Tiny Woods, laughing and joking around. Even though Smokey hated humans, Joey was starting to become friends with him.

"So why do they call you Smokey?" Joey asked his new friend. In response, Smokey blew a cloud of thick smoke into Joey's face. Once he stopped coughing, he continued, "Okay, you're called Smokey because you blow a lot of smoke. What's your real name then?"

"Smokey is my real name," he said. Joey looked at him in astonishment.

"Your parents named you Smokey?" he asked. Smokey nodded with a little smile, "Why would they give you such a name?"

"Before I even managed to get out of my shell, I was able to blow smoke," he explained, "I ended up filling my egg with smoke before I fully broke out. My parents saw smoke plumes coming from the cracks. I actually passed out, and they had to break open the shell so I didn't suffocate. They decided right there that my name was going to be Smokey."

Joey erupted into laughter. Nearly dying at birth didn't seem to bother Smokey and soon he joined in.

"Man, you must have some funny parents," Joey said once they had calmed down. However, Smokey's grin faded almost instantly and Joey knew he said something wrong.

"I don't see my parents that much anymore," he said quietly.

"Why?"

"My dad is part of a rescue team. He comes to visit, but not very often. I don't want to talk about what happened to my mom."

Joey knew by his tone to let it be. He had friends from broken families. They seemed normal, but on the inside, they were hurt. Some had family members die, imprisoned or they were just abused or neglected. It was best not to push these things.

"Anyways, enough of that," Smokey said lightening up, "Want me to show you where I live?"

"You got your own home!" Joey exclaimed. His tail went up in excitement. Smokey nodded and they started on their way. A cry came from deeper in the woods. They stopped in their tracks.

"What the hell was that?" Joey mumbled. Smokey told him to shut up and they listened for it again. When they heard it, Smokey took off running and Joey was forced to run after him. They ran through the thick bushes until they crashed out into an open space. In front of them was a huge crack in the ground and a large butterfly was hovering around, crying. When it saw them, it rushed over.

"What's wrong, Butterfree?" Smokey asked the butterfly. Before it could start Joey cut in.

"Wait, hold on," he said, "Is its name actually Butterfree or are you just saying butterfly with an Asian accent?"

Smokey and Butterfree just stared at him in confusion. Without answering Joey's question, Smokey told the panicking bug to continue.

"My s-son was ju-just pla-playing in the open wh-when a fissure opened up and swa-swallowed him!" wailed the Butterfree. Smokey nodded and put a hand on her shoulder, or wing, or whatever you want to call it.

"Don't worry," he said, trying to reassure her, "We'll get your son back for you."

Butterfree's face lit up with hope. "Oh, thank you so much, Smokey!" she cried and hugged him tightly, "I knew I could count on you. I promise you, if you can get my son back, I'll give you a nice reward."

Smokey's eyes grew wide at the sound of a reward, but Joey wasn't entirely convinced yet.

"Wait just a sec," interrupted Joey, "You want _us_," he pointed at himself and Smokey, "to go into _that_," he pointed to the fissure, "to save _your _son?"

Both Butterfree and Smokey glared daggers at Joey.

"Of course we are," Smokey stated, "because we are the only ones that can. It'll take a rescue team too long to get over here. Come on, Butterfree and Caterpie are depending on us."

Joey groaned in discontent, but gave into peer pressure. Butterfree gave Joey a surprisingly strong hug that nearly cracked his ribs. When she let go of him, he and Smokey peered down the fissure. The Charmander's tail flame lightened up the dark crack a fair amount. Even with the extra light, the bottom was barely visible.

"It doesn't look that far down," Joey commented, "I can easily make that."

"I don't know," Smokey warned, "I think we should climb down, take it slowly. You never know how deep these things can be."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Joey shouted at the lizard. Before Smokey could react, Joey jumped into the hole.

"Cccrrraaaaaaaaaaappppp!" Joey yelled as he hurtled toward the ground. His voice echoed off the walls briefly before he landed flat on his face on the fissure floor. A little while later, Smokey climbed down and jumped down cleanly next to his friend.

"That really hurt," Joey groaned, his voice still muffled by the ground. His friend walked up to him.

"Told you to take it slow," he taunted.

"Shut up."

"How do you feel?"

"Like a Pikachu-pancake."

Smokey helped Joey to his feet. Other than a bloody nose, he seemed to be fine. Something shiny was stuck on Joey's forehead. Smokey recognized it as a single Poké and took it.

"What's that?" Joey asked, staring at the golden coin.

The Charmander pocketed it and explained, "It is a Pokémon dollar, Poké for short. We can buy something in town once we get more."

Joey wanted to know more about this Pokémon filled town, but the fall really just made him want to leave. He cracked his neck a few times and put on a smile. It just turned into an ugly grimace.

"Well, since we're down here, I guess we should start looking for that kid, eh?" he said that and it brought a smile to Smokey's face.

"Now you're talking," he said and high-fived Joey, "This will be a cake walk."

"Ohhhh, I could really go for some cake..." Joey mumbled wistfully. Smokey just laughed and they took off through the dark cave.

"This is going to be awesome!" Joey cheered as they started their first adventure.


	3. Rock Type Rumble

"This cave sucks!" Joey yelled once again. The two friends had been wandering in the cave for well over an hour. Their feet dragged along the ground and Smokey's tail flame barely lit up the caves. "Seriously, how far could this kid have gone? I think he might actually be screwing with us."

"For the love of Mew, this place just stretches on forever," Smokey groaned, "Where's the end?"

"I don't know, but if we don't find it soon I'm going to snap."

They came to a crossroads in the corridor. Joey looked back and forth between the two options. He couldn't determine which one was the better choice.

"I give up," he said throwing his arms up, "You got anything?"

Smokey looked between the two. He leaned in and took a quick sniff in each corridor. After a minute he pointed to the left option.

"This one smells more like grass," he said and started to run. Joey just started at him before following.

"Are you serious?' Joey shouted as he quickly caught up, "You can tell where a Pokémon is by scent? I've smelt this crap for over half an hour and you're telling me it leads strait to him?

"If you could smell him," Smokey panted, "then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I had no idea!"

Smokey rolled his eyes and continued to run. Then he realized something weird about Joey. It was normal for a Pikachu to stand or even walk on its two hind legs, but Joey was flat out running like that. It looked kind of comical seeing him madly pump his stubbly legs.

"You know that Pikachu usually run on all fours, right?" he pointed out. Joey gave him a skeptical look, but fell over and started to run much faster. He slowed down for Smokey to catch up.

"Whoa, this is way easier!" he exclaimed happily, "How did I not know of this before?"

Smokey didn't respond as they entered a massive chamber filled with boulders. He increased the size of his tail flame to light up the entire room. At the far end, something small and green was shivering in a corner. They approached it and it turned its green and red head towards them.

"D-d-d-did my m-m-mom se-send you g-g-guys to s-s-save m-me?" it stuttered out. Smokey walked up to the trembling Caterpie to try and comfort it. Instead it backed away further into the corner.

"We're not going to hurt you," Smokey said, trying to calm it down. The Caterpie just started to shake more.

"N-n-n-no!" it yelled, "It-it-it's a tr-trap! They're u-using me for th-their r-r-ritual and th-they d-d-don't like it w-when others i-in-interrupt!"

Smokey was going to ask who, but he heard Joey go '_uh_-_oh'_ from behind him. He turned to see a group of what he thought were boulders approaching them. _Geodude_, he thought with a little hate. Fire types like him were weak against rock types. Electricity was weak also. They not only had a type disadvantage, they were also heavily outnumbered.

"This is bad, right?" Joey asked, backing up to where Smokey stood.

"Yeah, we both have a type disadvantage. But rock is also super effective against fire," Smokey explained to Joey. Despite his simple explanation, Joey didn't seem to pick up on it.

"Sooo...what?" he pushed him on, "Are we really screwed or just screwed?"

"We might not be either if we can talk our way out." Smokey approached the leader of the group.

"Don't come any closer," it ordered in a gravelly voice, "State what you want from there."

"We want to leave with Caterpie without an incident," Smokey answered without missing a beat.

The lead Geodude frowned in contempt, "Well, I'm afraid that's not possible."

"What do you mean 'that's not possible'?" Joey questioned, taking a step forward in anger. The Geodude leader let out a humoured grunt.

"We cannot simply let it go, silly Pikachu," it explained, "We need it for a ritual."

"What's this ritual?" asked Smokey and Joey asked, "And why do you need Caterpie?"

"The ritual requires a sacrifice of a young child to please the angered earth gods," the Geodude coolly explained. The team stepped back.

"That's sick!" shouted Joey in disgust, "We are not letting you sacrifice Caterpie for your disgusting rituals."

"Oh well," the Geodude leader sighed, "Then I guess we are going to have to kill you too."

"Bring it," growled Smokey. He knew they were outnumbered and most likely going to die, but he was determined to protect Caterpie from these sickos.

The Geodudes lunged at them. Joey tried to swipe one away, only to get swarmed by the others. As Smokey watched his new friend go down, two others grabbed his arms and pinned him against the wall. The leader came over and started to punch him in the stomach. Smoke started to come from his nostrils and he launched fireball at the leader's face. It shook it off and punched him in the face with a rocky knuckle. Somehow, he managed to stay conscious after the blow.

He looked up and saw Joey was completely swarmed by the Geodudes. They punched him and he tried to fight back, but couldn't land a hit. For a moment they locked eyes and passed a solemn message. Smokey wanted to say 'sorry for dragging you into this,' but it just came out like sad goodbye.

"Now for the final hit," said the leader with triumph. Smokey shut his eyes tight, waiting for the blow that would end him. Instead, he heard Joey scream.

"_NOOOOOOOOOO_!"

Smokey snapped his eyes open. The leader Geodude had paused in his wind up to watch Joey. He had electricity sparking around his cheeks and a fierce look in his eyes. Smokey knew that electricity would barely affect rock types. He watched hopelessly as Joey let off a massive electrical attack. He slipped into unconsciousness before he could see the result.

* * *

Smokey felt someone smacking him on his face. His eyes fluttered open and it took him a moment to regain his surroundings.

"My, my, how the tables have turned," he heard a familiar voice say. His head spun towards it see the smiling face of Joey, "It took you long enough to wake up."

They both started to laugh in relief. The pain in his stomach and face made it hard to laugh. He remembered the Geodude gang and stopped. After glancing around though, he noticed that all the Geodude were defeated. They lay in heaps all around the cavern.

"What happened?" Smokey asked his friend. Before Joey could answer, Caterpie jumped in.

"Aw, man, it was awesome! Joey was like 'NOOOOO' and shot off a bunch of lightning. I didn't think it was going to work because rock types aren't affected by electricity, but his attack sent all of them flying all over the cave and knocked them all out. It was so cool!"

Smokey's jaw dropped. He stared at Joey, waiting for a proper explanation. The Pikachu just shrugged.

"That pretty much nails it," he concluded with a modest grin. Smokey shook his head like he was trying to dislodge the crazy part of his brain.

"That doesn't make any sense!" he complained, "Electricity is barely effective against rock and ground types. How could you release such a powerful attack?"

Once again, Joey just shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "I saw you being attacked and just wanted to help. I felt something growing inside and I just released it all at once. I didn't even know I could do that."

Smokey sighed and slumped back to the cave floor. He hated Joey's old trainer even more now. He must have made him fight really hard to become that powerful. Joey didn't notice his anger and just helped him up to his feet.

"Who cares how I did it," he said, "I managed to save our lives. Now let's get out of here before they wake up."

It took a moment to register what Joey meant. Then he remembered why they came to the cave in the first place.

"Come on, Caterpie," he said to the small bug, "Let's get you back to your mom. The bug Pokémon jumped for joy and ran up to them. The tired trio exited the cavern and felt uplifted over results of their first battle.


	4. Rewards and Such

"MOMMY!"

"SON!"

The two Pokémon hugged each other in a tight embrace. The Butterfree was on the ground, holding her young son.

At the fissure, Smokey was shouting encouraging things to Joey. He was still trying to climb the walls, but it was grueling work. The electric attack he let loose in the cavern had really taxed his energy levels. When he was close enough, Smokey stuck out his claw and helped his new friend up.

"I still can't believe you could use such a powerful attack," Smokey commented as he helped Joey out of the crack. Joey shrugged, trying to make it seem like he had no idea either. It occurred to him that he maybe he did.

He had been in that situation just before he died as a human. When those Geodude ganged up on them, he felt like he was living a flashback. This time, something strange rose in him. Some sort of energy. Using it, he managed to save his friend without getting himself killed in the process.

As they watched the show of emotion between the two Pokémon, Joey saw a tear come to the Charmander's eye. Smokey saw that Joey was staring at him and quickly rubbed his eyes before it could escape.

"We did that," Smokey said, his voice full of emotion, "We reunited that family. It feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess," Joey mumbled. The truth was, Joey just felt jealous of Caterpie and Butterfree. He would never get to see his family again, get to hug his mother. He pushed away those feelings and tried to focus on what he just accomplished.

Butterfree finally let go of her son and flew over to them. Her eyes sparkled with tears.

"I cannot express how grateful I am for you risking your lives to save my son," she said, "I'm afraid that all I can give you is a couple hundred Poké. That's not even close to how much my son is worth. It's all I can give you, though."

To Joey, it didn't appear that Smokey caught the last part. He could almost see little dollar signs come up in his eyes like they do in cartoons. Smokey was obviously overwhelmed by that amount of money, so Joey took over the talking.

"Well, it was our pleasure," Joey said, accepting the reward, "A child and a mother should never be separated like that."

What Joey said seemed to do the trick. Smokey snapped back to reality and also told the mother that it was a pleasure. The family left the clearing, leaving Joey and Smokey by the fissure. Joey looked back down at the place where they had almost died.

"What do you think caused this?" he asked Smokey. He walked over to the fissure and also peered in.

"There have been a lot of earthquakes recently," he said, "Maybe one was large enough to open this up."

"You think that's what the Geodude were talking about? About having to sacrifice Caterpie to calm the angry earth gods?"

"Maybe... certain Pokemon have different beliefs. I think those ones were just so desperate for the earthquakes to stop that they were willing to try anything."

Joey gave a grunt in response. They both just stared into the pit. "What were we doing before we went down there?" Smokey asked suddenly. Joey flinched and he almost fell back into the crack.

"Uh...um...oh!" Joey exclaimed when he remembered, "You were going to show me where you lived."

"That's right!" Smokey said, beaming, "You are going to love it there. Come on!"

The two friends returned to walking through the forest. Joey was really excited to see his friend's house. He wondered what it would look like, how Pokémon lived. Smokey's dad was on a rescue team, so he must be rich or at least have a nice house. Either way, Joey really wanted to see it.

* * *

"So... is that the shack or the outhouse or something?"

"No, I live in there."

"You live in the outhouse?"

"No, that is the house. What do you think?"

Joey couldn't believe his eyes. Smokey's house was a wreck. It was old and shabby. If it had any paint, it was all gone by now, leaving it a dirty brown. The whole frame was covered in foliage. The house itself looked like it was leaning to the left. It looked like a slight breeze could knock it over. He had a feeling that if Smokey hadn't pointed it out, he would have missed it completely.

"It's...rustic," was all Joey could manage without angering the Charmander. But even that failed as he noticed a thin column of smoke coming from his friend's nostrils.

"You don't have to make fun of it," Smokey sulked, "I know it's a piece of trash, but it has been my home for a long time."

"I'm not making fun. It's better than my home."

"You don't have a home."

"Exactly."

Smokey puffed out a white cloud. "Well, come on. I'll show you the inside and where you can sleep."

Joey followed, hoping that it would be a little better on the inside.

It wasn't.

The wooden frame was rotten. Mildew covered the floors and walls. The roof was riddled with holes, allowing patches of sunlight to get through, a task the grimy windows failed to do. The only furniture was a rough stone table with no chairs and a thin mattress tucked into a corner by the fireplace. At least he was right about one thing. The house was leaning to the left.

"So... I guess I'm sleeping on the floor?" Joey asked. Smokey nodded and pointed to a spot near the fireplace where he laid down a blanket.

"You can sleep there. The wood has rotten a lot in that spot so it's softer than the rest of the floor."

Joey flinched like he had been stabbed with a pin. Sleeping on a pile of rotten wood wasn't his first choice of where to spend his nights. Smokey noticed his look of displeasure and let out another white puff.

"Look, I'm sorry I can't give you a better bed. This is all I have," Smokey sighed and plopped down on his mattress, "I don't have much of anything."

"Hey, don't worry about it, okay?" said Joey, "Once again, it's better than anything I got."

Smokey gave a little chuckle and lightened up a bit. Joey went over and sat next to him.

"So what's the plan now?" he asked Smokey.

His friend looked down at the bundle of money Butterfree had given to them, "We could go into town. Buy some food, heal our injuries."

"Sounds good," said Joey, jumping to his feet, "I could really go for some cake."

Smokey jumped to his feet also and they headed to town.

* * *

Smokey lived far from town. You couldn't even say he lived on the outskirts because his shack was basically in Tiny Woods. When they got into the town, Joey was surprised by its size. He had lived in a giant metropolis before becoming a Pokémon and had never seen a small town before. While it wasn't the size of his old home, it was still fairly large.

Pokémon of all different sorts went about their daily business in the town square. Smokey had to urge Joey to move every ten seconds because he would stop to gape at them. Eventually, he just left Joey by the side of the store and went in to buy some food. While he was waiting, a Pokémon came over to him.

"Eh, a new face is always a welcome sight," it said to Joey. The Pokémon had a really deep and smooth voice. All he could do was stare up at the strange creature. It looked like a green frog with a lily pad on its head. When Joey didn't respond, it waved its hand in front of his face.

"Hellooo?" it called into Joey's face, "Anyone in there?"

Joey came to his sense and smacked the hand away from his face, "Yes, someone is in here," he said, irritably, "What do you want?"

"Well, I just wanted to welcome you to town," it said with a dopey smile, "I'm Leaky, the Lombre. What's your name, friend?"

"I'm Joey, the Pikachu," Joey said, copying Leaky.

"So where do you come from?" the Lombre asked

Joey decided to use the same lie he told Smokey. "I escaped from my trainer. He decided to try and catch Pokémon here. I met up with a Charmander and I'm staying at his place."

"There's a human on the island!" Leaky exclaimed, "Do you have any idea what he'll do to this place?"

"Relax, man, he's dead. After I escaped I left him to die at the hands of a Geodude."

Leaky sighed in relief. Suddenly, a clear, angry voice raged from across the square. The Lombre stared in its direction and froze with fear. Joey looked too and saw a red, bug like creature stalking towards them. It had two pincers with eyes designs on them and wings that it wasn't using. He had no clue who or what it was. One thing was for certain. It looked pissed and ready for a fight.


	5. Making Enemies

"You got to protect me!" Leaky wailed.

"What for?" Joey questioned. The Lombre didn't answer and instead tried to hide behind the Pikachu. It failed miserably, since Leaky was twice as big as Joey. As he got closer Joey saw that the other Pokémon was at least four times his size and that it had a grey bandana around its forehead. Either way, Joey stood his ground in between the plant Pokémon and the red bug.

"Move out of the way, runt," it snarled at Joey, "I got some business to take care of with this one."

"Who you calling a runt?" Joey demanded, his anger flaring up, "If you want Leaky you're going to have to go through me first!"

"Get out of the way kid, unless you want to get hurt," it said slowly. Joey made his cheeks crackle with electricity in response. He hoped it would intimidate the larger Pokémon, but it had the opposite effect. It lurched forward quickly as if to attack, causing Joey to jump back.

"That's a cute bodyguard you got for yourself," it said, sensing Joey's fear. It made another quick move, only this time it actually attacked. With one swift movement, it knocked the smaller Pikachu aside and grabbed Leaky by the neck. Holding him in one pincer, it smashed Leaky against the wall.

"You still owe me money for that rescue job. Now, you're going to pay me or I will hurt you," it said in a quiet and deadly tone. Joey didn't care how big this other Pokémon was; no one goes and threatens other people. And no one calls him a runt.

"You let go of him now!" Joey yelled and charged the bug. It rolled its eyes and smacked Joey with his free pincer. When he hit the ground, it pinned him down under its foot.

"You've got one more chance to pay up, or things will get painful for you and your little friend," the bug told Leaky in a very calm tone. It had no trouble keeping Leaky aloft and Joey pinned at the same time. The Lombre squirmed in its tight grip, but couldn't say a single word. The Pokémon applied more pressure on top of Joey to stop him from struggling. By now, a group had started to form around the fight.

Joey's anger hit the tipping point. He tried to use another attack like he did in the fissure, but he didn't have enough energy. He was still too weak from the Geodude. Instead, he tried to concentrate all the energy he had left into a single point. When he had mustered all the energy he could spare, he let it go in one powerful, electric strike. The bug shifted its yellow eyes down just in time to see the attack rush towards its head.

The attack connected with its face with so much power that it sent it flying through the air. The bug landed on the other side of the street with a loud _clang_.

"No one-calls me-a runt-and gets-away with it. Understand?" Joey panted out. He hoped that it wouldn't get up because he didn't have any energy left for another one. But to his dismay, the Pokémon got up.

If Joey thought it was pissed before, he had no idea how to describe it now. He looked into its eyes and didn't just see anger. He saw pure hatred. This thing was going to murder him.

"I'm going to tear you apart!" it roared as to confirm Joey's fears. It charged and Joey got ready to dodge. He doubted he could. He hardly had enough strength to stand up.

A fireball was launched from behind him and collided with the bug in mid-stride. It sent the Pokémon flying once again, causing it to land in a smoldering heap.

Joey turned to see Smokey standing at the door with a bag of groceries in his hand and black smoke seeping from his nose. Joey never thought that anyone could look badass while holding groceries, but Smokey nailed it.

"Back off, you stupid Scizor," he growled and revealed the Pokémon's identity, "Unless you want me to melt that metal coat off your sorry ass."

The Scizor struggled to its feet and glared at them. "The name is Manac," it forced out, "and your friend interrupted my business deal."

"I don't care what my friend was doing," he said, smoke still pouring from his nose, "You are going to leave Joey and Leaky alone or you are going to have to deal with me. You got that?"

Manac mumbled something under his breath that no one heard. He shoved his way through the crowd until he was out of sight. Someone in the crowd started to clap slowly. Soon, the whole crowd joined in, giving Smokey and Joey a huge applause.

Joey managed a weak smile, but Smokey was irritated by the clapping. He grabbed Joey by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the crowd. Joey was too weak from the day and allowed himself to be carried. Once clear of their fans, Smokey shoved him roughly into a wall.

"Hey! What was that for?" Joey groaned. Despite being weak, he still managed to keep his short temper.

"I want to know what that fight was about," he demanded angrily. Joey could tell because thin lines of black smoke spilled from his nose, "Why would you go and pick a fight with a Scizor who's four times your size? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I didn't start it," Joey protested weakly, "Manac started it. He threatened Leaky and I had to protect him. And he called me names! What was I supposed to do? Not fight him?"

"Yes!" Smokey exploded, "That's exactly what you do! What did he even call you that made you want to fight him so badly?"

"He called me a runt," whimpered Joey. Smokey smacked himself in the face with his palm.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked faintly, "You start a fight because someone called you a runt?"

"Well, yeah. I don't take crap from nobody."

Smokey just let out a frustrated sigh. He rummaged through the bag and tossed Joey a large apple. Joey stared at it, kind of disappointed that it wasn't cake, but wolfed it down anyways. After eating nothing all day, the apple tasted like a gourmet meal. He saw that his friend had also started to eat one.

Joey noticed that after eating, a little bit of his strength was coming back. He looked down to see that his cuts and bruises from the day's fights were healing fast. When he pointed this out to Smokey, he laughed out loud, spraying apple everywhere.

"That's what food does," he explained after swallowing, "It heals Pokémon and helps them regain their strength. How do you not know all of this?"

"Well, sorry, I was in captivity," said Joey, bringing back the lie, "When we were injured in battle, they just used chemicals to heal us. Even if we couldn't fight anymore, they just gave us more of them to give us a boost."

That silenced Smokey and extinguished his anger. Before he could apologize, Leaky came running around the corner.

"That was an awesome fight, guys!" he exclaimed when he saw them, "That Thunderbolt attack was too cool and you had perfect timing with that fireball."

"You used Thunderbolt?" Smokey asked Joey in disbelief. Joey shrugged but Leaky filled in for him.

"Oh, man, you should've seen it! Manac had him pinned down and was all like 'stay down' and Joey was like 'screw you, Scizor' and hit him with a Thunderbolt that sent him flying! He flew like thirty feet, it was so kick ass! By far one of the coolest-"

"Dude, shut up!" yelled Smokey, cutting off the Lombre, "How do you know Thunderbolt already? That takes so long to learn."

"Because Joey is a freaking bad ass Pikachu, that's why," said Leaky, giving Joey a slap on the back. Joey had to ask him something though.

"What did Manac even want with you?" he asked Leaky. He started to fidget nervously with his webbed fingers.

"Well, you see," he started, trying to find the right words, "he did a rescue for me a while back but I... I couldn't pay him fully for it."

"Well, Joey, at least you got your butt kicked for a good cause," Smokey said in a jokingly way.

"Hey, I didn't get my butt kicked!" Joey claimed, "I think I did fairly well against a Scizor. I blasted it halfway across the street."

"Yeah and it got up ready to tear off your face."

"Ah... shut your mouth."

"Look guys, I owe you big time," said Leaky, "I'm pretty sure if you didn't help, Manac would have killed me. He's not known for being the calmest of Pokémon."

"You don't owe us anything," said Smokey, "You owing people is what got the fight started."

"Yeah, okay. I'll catch you guys around town some other time."

"What a strange guy," Joey mumbled once Leaky was out of sight. Smokey nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, his voice is way too deep for a Lombre," Smokey pointed out. Joey looked at him for an explanation, but Smokey just shook his head like he meant 'never mind'.

Smokey saw how low the sun was getting and stood up to stretch. He pulled Joey up too, who was starting to fall asleep. They made their way back to the shack and Joey fell onto his rotten bed. To his disgust and relief, he sunk a little bit into the floor.

He rolled onto his back and stared at the hole-ridden ceiling. He couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened in just one day. He woke up to find himself in a completely new world, made new friends, made plenty of new enemies and reunited a family, all before going to bed. He let out a long sigh.

He had accomplished so much in just one day. And tomorrow was another one, filled with opportunities.


	6. Birth of a Rescue Team

Joey smelled something funny. He wriggled his nose trying to determine what it was. It reminded him of when asked Smokey where he got his name from and his explanation consisted of blowing smoke into his face. Wait, that means he is smelling smoke. And smoke means...

"FIRE!" Joey yelled, bolting up straight. He looked around to see no fire and that Smokey was rolling around on the floor laughing. He looked into the fireplace to see a fire burning.

"The look on your face!" he wheezed in between laughs, "It was priceless!"

Joey watched his friend rolling around on the floor and made a plan to get him back. He felt around for the electricity and stored some in his finger. As Smokey rolled by, he grabbed his foot and released a good shock into him.

Smokey jumped so high, he almost went through the roof of his shack. Joey started to laugh hysterically, his eyes shut tight from laughing. That's probably why he didn't see the fireball coming towards him. Smokey's attack hit him right in the face, ceasing his fits of laughter. Joey's fur didn't catch on fire but it was blackened from the Ember.

He blinked a few times, trying to register what just happened. He looked at Smokey and for a brief moment, there was silence. But soon they both exploded into another fit of laughter. This went on for several minutes but they finally managed to reduce it to the occasional chuckle.

"I think we should stop attacking each other from now on," panted Smokey, "launching fireballs and electricity could burn my shack down."

"I don't know if that would be such a bad thing," Joey panted, "I think it would be an improvement. It would be warm, at least for a little while."

Smokey chuckled and started taking something out of the fire. Joey moved closer to see what it was. His eyes lit up and his stomach rumbled when he saw what Smokey was holding. In both his claws, Smokey held the two biggest s'mores Joey had ever seen.

"When did you makes those?" he asked, accidentally drooling all over himself.

"While you were asleep," said Smokey, handing him one, "I swear, you sleep more than a Snorlax."

"Snorlax?" Joey asked through a mouthful of s'more. Smokey rolled his eyes and described Snorlax to him. Joey shrugged and continued eating his breakfast. He patted his belly in contentment, having just finished the best thing he had ever tasted.

"So I'm guessing you liked it," said Smokey who hadn't even half finished his yet, "you eat like a Snorlax too."

"That was the best s'more I tasted ever, of all time," sighed Joey. What he said seemed to confuse his friend though.

"Wait, what did you call it?" he asked Joey. Joey repeated what he said but the Charmander still seemed confused.

"Huh, I always called them chocolate marshmallow sandwiches," Smokey frowned, "why do you call them s'mores?"

"Because once you finish one you go 'I want s'more," chuckled Joey. When Smokey didn't laugh Joey explained further using another lie, "the other Pokémon and I made that joke up in captivity. Human humour, I don't expect you to get it."

Joey started to doze off as Smokey finished the last of his s'more. When Smokey was finished, he nudged his friend awake.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," he said. Joey just motioned for him to go on, "well, we did a good job saving Caterpie yesterday and we did manage to beat Manac too. Being a rescue team can also bring in a lot of money. So I was wondering... if you wanted... to start a rescue team... with me."

Joey stared at him with one eyebrow raised like he was asking if he was serious. Smokey's grin faded into a frown as he thought that Joey would say no.

"I'll do it," he said suddenly. Smokey's face lit up, "but if you think we did well yesterday, we need to get your head checked. You must have hit it hard because we got our asses handed to us on a silver platter."

"Okay, let's go then," Smokey said and they both got up.

"Wait, where do we go?" Joey asked, "You don't just become one, do you?"

"I think you have to sign yourself up at the post office," Smokey thought out loud. Joey once again had no idea what he was talking about, "it's on the west side of town. I know the way."

Joey followed his friend to town, where they would sign up and become an official rescue team.

* * *

"Hey, if it isn't my two favourite Pokémon," Leaky greeted them on their way in. Smokey grinned to see the familiar and friendly face.

"Hey Leaky, how you doing?" he said, returning the greeting. Leaky's face split into a grin.

"Guess what?" he asked and they both asked 'what', "I got the money to pay off my debt to Team Steel. Thanks to you guys, I managed to get it to them on time without getting beaten."

"You had a debt to another team?" Joey asked incredulously, "how many teams have you hired?"

"Uh, has your friend been eating some wild shrooms or something?" Leaky asked Smokey quietly so Joey wouldn't hear, "'cause he ain't making any sense."

"No, he just doesn't know anything about this place," Smokey replied in the same quiet voice. He then raised his voice back to normal and explained to Joey, "Manac is part of Team Steel. Leaky didn't hire multiple, he just had to pay off the one. When someone doesn't pay, they usually send Manac to get it."

Joey made a nose that sounded like he understood. Smokey turned back to Leaky.

"You know everything that goes on in town, right?" he asked him. The same dopey smile returned to Leaky's face and he nodded.

"Sure do, my friend," he said, "I know everything about everyone in this town. I know the history of every building and even the layout of the sewers, too. Ask me anything and I'll give you everything you need to know."

"Okay, well we're not going into the sewers but we need to know how to sign up to be a rescue team."

"Ah, I knew it!" exclaimed Leaky, "like father like son, as they always say. With the way you two fight, you guys are going to make an awesome team."

"Focus Leaky, can you tell us how to sign up?"

"Sure thing, man. All you need to do is go to the post office, fill out a couple of papers, pay a fee and they give you a rescue team badge. Wait, what's wrong?"

At the sound of the fee, Smokey's shoulders slumped and Joey's ears drooped. They both knew that they had spent all the money on food.

"We don't have any money," mumbled Joey. Leaky's dopey smile still remained though.

"Don't worry, I can spot you the fee," he said. Joey's ears perked up again.

"Really? You're not just screwing with us?" asked Joey causing to Leaky chuckle.

"No problem. You kids saved my life. It's the least I can do."

Leaky handed them a sack of money that he seemed to just pull out of nowhere. Smokey took charge of carrying it and after thanking Leaky, they headed west to the post office. But before they could go anywhere, Leaky stopped them.

"You guys seem to be forgetting something important," he told them, "you haven't picked a team name yet! A rescue team has to have a good name in order to become well known. It can be as simple as Team ACT or as complicated as Team Nikhse."

"Team Nikhse?" asked Joey not sure if he pronounced it right, "What the hell is a Nikhse?"

"Now that is something even I don't know," said Leaky, "I think it's a different language or something."

"Huh, I guess we should choose a name before we go," Smokey said. He tried to think of one but he couldn't so he turned to Joey, "you think of one, I'm stumped."

Joey scratched his chin while he thought. _Team Awesome_? No, not original. _Team Rescue_? Lame. _Team Thunder_? Seems too electrical. He started to get disheartened by not being able to think of a name when something clicked in his head.

"I got one," he said which got the attention of his two friends, "how about Team Spartan?"

Smokey didn't get the name or what it meant but Leaky whistled, "That's a good one, Joey," he said, "Smokey and Joey, Team Spartan. It's got a nice ring to it."

"I'm sorry, but what is a Spartan?" Smokey asked. Leaky started to explain but Joey cut him off. He wanted to get to explain something to Smokey for once.

"A Spartan was an ancient warrior from Greece," he began, "they were well known and feared throughout the land because they were such good fighters. When Greece became threatened by the Persians, 300 Spartans went to stop the invading army. Unfortunately, they all died but not before those 300 men managed to kill over half a million Persian soldiers. That's how they became a legend."

"Wait, Spartans are humans," Smokey pointed out with a little anger, "I don't want my team to be named after a bunch of humans!"

"Smokey, calm the fires," said Leaky, "They lived thousands of years ago. When someone says 'Spartan' they don't think of humans first. They think something more like 'Legendary Warrior'. Trust me. You will gain some mad respect with that name. It'll be even better with that performance against Manac from yesterday to back it up."

Smokey warmed up to the idea and agreed to the name. Leaky decided to join them and the trio headed off to the post office to make it official.


	7. Team Spartan's First Job

Leaky cheered as Smokey and Joey came out from the post office, carrying with them their scarves, toolbox and badge. Joey had been surprised when they got the toolbox because he had thought it was going to be an actual toolbox. Instead it was made of nylon and had two straps, like a back-pack. It matched the colour of their scarves, which was a deep green.

"Hold on, let me see your badge," laughed Leaky and Smokey handed it to him. He read the inscription on the front out loud, "Official Rescue Team Badge: Team Spartan. Man, that is so cool. I am so jealous of you guys that you get to do this."

"Rescue teams can recruit other members," Smokey stated, "You know that. You can join us if you want to. We could use a guy who knows everything on our team."

"Nah, I can't do that," Leaky declined, "I may have vast amounts of knowledge about the town and its surrounding areas but I am afraid that I will be not be useful in a battle environment. I'm a lover, not a fighter. But I can still assist you guys by giving you advice before you go on missions, so make sure to come to me so I can brief you on what lays ahead."

"Okay, since we're now an official rescue team, we should get a job," Joey said and clapped his hands together. He looked back and forth between his friends, "so how are we going to get one?"

"I have no clue," Smokey admitted and shrugged his shoulders, "you have any idea, Leaky?"

"'Course I do," he said and he pointed to the bulletin board behind them, "that bulletin board serves as the gathering point for mission offers. Pokémon in need of help post their missions and the mission details on that board. However, if you become better known, you will get mail delivered right to you sometimes."

They thanked him for his advice and Leaky went back to his business. While Leaky was talking, Joey had tied his green scarf around his head like a bandana. They went over to the board but realized something really embarrassing though.

They were too short to reach any of the job offerings.

"Well that's just great," Joey fumed, staring up at the job offers, "we become a rescue team but can't even reach the job offers."

"Aw man, you guys have some terrible luck," a familiar voice said. They turned to see that Leaky came back, "I got an idea though, so don't you worry. Smokey, climb onto my head."

"Hey, how come he gets to do it?" complained Joey. Leaky chuckled, causing Smokey to nearly fall off.

"'Cause you're half his size," Leaky stated with another chuckle. Joey got annoyed when he was made fun of.

"I am not only half his size," Joey said, "I'm definitely bigger than that. More like... two thirds his size. Yeah, two thirds seems about right."

Both of them laughed at Joey at that. He resisted the urge to zap his friends with a lightning bolt and just waited for them to find a good mission. Leaky and Smokey scoured the offers but each one they picked out seemed too hard for a beginner team.

Joey went up to the sign and tried to climb up. It worked surprisingly well for him and he was able to get to the top of the bulletin board with no problem. From the top, he hung over the side and tried to find job offers that way. They had to search nearly the entire board before Joey found one. He was about to tell his friends that he found one when a large shadow covered them.

"Hey where did all the light g-HOLY CRAP!" Joey looked up when he saw the shadow expecting that it was just a cloud. He wasn't prepared to see a thirty foot tall, grey, snake-like creature looming over them.

"Joey, it looks likes you've seen a Haunter," Leaky laughed and turned around to see what Joey was terrified of, making Smokey come face to face with a pair of yellow eyes. The Charmander's eyes grew wide with shock while the Scizor's narrowed.

"Fancy seeing you here," Manac said coldly, "I don't remember there being a rule letting civilians do rescue jobs."

"For you information," Joey began in anger, "we're a rescue team now. So you can bug off."

"Oh really?" he asked, turning his attention to the Pikachu on the board, "you started a team with a Pikachu, a Charmander and a Lombre? You guys will get destroyed."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that considering how easily we beat you," Joey mocked. Manac punched Joey so fast that he was still smiling when he got hit. The punch sent Joey flying off the board, which made him drop the mission offer he was holding.

Smokey jumped off Leaky and checked to see if Joey was okay. He was stirring on the ground so he assumed that he was fine. He turned back to Manac with dark smoke billowing out of his nose. He made a move towards the Scizor but someone held him back.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned a voice behind him. Smokey turned to face the speaker. The Pokémon looked like a mix of a Triceratops and a Rhino, covered with plated armour. The Aggron was holding him back.

"Yeah Smokey, listen to my friend," Manac chided him, "it wouldn't be wise to try and fight Team Steel with only a cowardly Lombre to back you up."

"Hey man, there's no need to fight," Leaky said, trying to calm them down, "We all just want to help Pokémon who need our assistance. I don't think we should be fighting amongst ourselves."

"Of course you would back away from a fight, "Manac snarled at Leaky, "you just get other Pokémon to fight for you."

"You take that back!" Smokey roared and tried to charge him but the Aggron had an iron grip. Leaky and Smokey both stared down Manac and he returned their looks. Finally the biggest of them all spoke to break the tension.

"Manac, stop wasting your time with these fools," it said. It spoke in a higher tone so Smokey assumed it was a female, "we came here to get a job."

"You're right, Irene," Manac said, "Ignot, let go of that foolish Charmander."

"Okay boss," the Aggron said and let go of Smokey who was struggling to free himself. When he released his grip, Smokey flew forward and went face first into the ground. Manac took a couple offers down from the board and left with Team Steel.

Smokey's nose was still releasing smoke as he got to his feet. He hated how powerful rescue teams treated everyone like they were inferior to them. His anger faded a little when Joey came from behind the board rubbing his head. At least he was okay.

"Ugh... what happened?" he groaned, "What the hell hit me?"

"Manac's claw and the ground," Smokey replied with a scowl. Joey's face scrunched up in confusion.

"I didn't even see him move," he mumbled while still rubbing his head. He shook his head a little as if to clear it up. Apparently it worked because he suddenly looked at his empty hands and swore loudly.

"Chill, little guy," Leaky said as he walked over, "you got to watch what you say or you could offend someone. Now just tell us what's wrong."

"I found a good rescue offer before Team Steel showed up," he explained bitterly, "I think I lost it when Manac punched me out because I don't have it anymore."

Smokey sighed, letting out a puff of white smoke. They had been so pumped up to get a job right after becoming a team. Walking away without a job would just seem like failure, but taking a hard job and having to get rescued would be worse.

"Don't look so sad," Leaky said trying to boost their spirits, "Pokémon are in constant need of help these days. So what if you didn't get an offer today. Tomorrow there will be plenty more jobs."

"Thanks Leaky. You always know what to say," Smokey thanked the Lombre. Leaky activated his dopey grin, "it's what I do," he said.

"Okay, well it's still fairly early," Joey pointed out, "we've got a whole day to kill but no job. What do we do now?"

"A good rescue team always has to be in top shape," Leaky suggested, "you guys are both fairly small Pokemon, so physical attacks won't do much against larger opponents. I think you'll both benefit from training you're special attacks as you would have a better chance of defeating foes with them. So what I suggest you do is for you to go home and practice your aim and your strength against some random objects."

Joey looked at Smokey for confirmation and he gave a shrug that said 'why not'. They took Leaky's advice and headed home to train. It was a long walk back to the house since they were still bummed out by not finding a job but at least they had something else to do. When they got back Joey headed inside for some food and Smokey stayed outside to practice his Ember attack.

As soon as Joey walked inside, he noticed an envelope on the floor. Curiosity took over and he picked it up and opened it. Inside was a folded piece of paper. He took it out and opened it to read. As he took in the information, a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Hey, Smokey, save your strength!" he called out to his friend and waving the paper in the air. He turned and asked what he wanted. Joey's face split into an even wider grin.

"Looks like Team Spartan got their first job!"


	8. Thunderwave Cave

Joey, Smokey and Leaky approached the cave where the Magnemite was waiting. It hovered over to them when it saw them coming.

Joey thought it was among the most bizarre things he had seen. Its body was a metal ball with a single eye and it had two magnets sticking out of its sides, as well as a screw on the top. Even though it only had one eye and no other facial features, he could tell that it was worried somehow.

"GREETINGS, RESCUE TEAM SPARTAN," it said in an electronic voice, "THANK YOU FOR COMING ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE."

"So what do you need help with?" Smokey asked the robot Pokémon. He was carrying the toolbox which they had filled with some of the remaining supplies from the house. It looked small but could store an unexpected amount of gear.

"TWO OF MY FRIENDS ARE STUCK TOGETHER IN THE CAVE AND ARE UNABLE TO LEAVE," it replied in a somehow concerned tone, "I CAN'T GET THEM SEPARATED FOR SOME REASON."

"Wait stuck together as in they are with each other and trapped or literally stuck together?" Smokey asked in confusion. The Magnemite responded quickly.

"THEY ARE STUCK TOGETHER IN THE LITERAL MEANING," it said, "THEY ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CAVE."

"Don't worry about it, we'll get you friends back mister..." he trailed off, waiting for the Magnemite to fill in the gap.

"MY NAME IS BOLTS," Bolts filled in, "MY FRIENDS' NAMES ARE BUZZ AND FRIZZ."

Smokey nodded and turned to his two friends. Joey was still staring at the Magnemite, like it was the most interesting thing ever. He gave him a light smack to get him to focus.

"So, Leaky, what can you tell us about the cave?" Smokey asked Leaky, since that's why he was there, "any specific Pokémon to watch out for, any special hazards?"

"Yeah, there are a few things you should know," Leaky began, "the first thing you should watch out is for the electric types in there. The cave has a weird force in it that makes electric Pokémon a lot more powerful, which should work in your advantage, Joey."

"The second thing is that the cave has multiple floors," the younger Pokémon stared blankly at him so he continued, "I know, it's weird that a cave would have different levels, but it does. As Bolts said, his friends are on the very bottom. To get there, you'll have to look for a way down. You might find a place where Pokémon have dug a hole to get between levels, or you might find an occasional cave-in. As long as you guys stick together, you shouldn't have a problem getting to the bottom."

"Okay, that sounds simple enough," Smokey said. He turned to Joey, "you ready for our first official rescue?" Joey nodded eagerly, "then let's go!"

"Wait!" Leaky shouted after them. They turned around, "I almost forgot to give you this," he handed them an old, wrinkled sheet of paper, "that's a map of the cave. It's a bit outdated, but the routes should more or less be the same."

They thanked him for the map and left Leaky with Bolts as they entered the cave.

The cave became dark really fast. If it hadn't been for Smokey's tail flame Joey was sure that they would have gotten lost. He held the map to the small fire to read it better.

"Okay, according to this map, there should be a hole to get down to the second floor if we follow this corridor," Joey said, pointing straight ahead, "we just need to make a few turns and we'll find it easily, as long as we don't fall down in ourselves."

"You sure?" Smokey peered into the darkness, trying to make out any features along the walls."

"That's what the map says."

They followed the map's directions, and sure enough, they found the hole to the next level. It was literally just a hole in the ground, barely wide enough to fit Smokey through.

"You go first," Joey offered, staring into the abyss, "you've got the light."

"I can't see the bottom though!" Smokey protested.

"That's why you need to go first. So you can light up the area. Quit your whining and take one for the team."

The Charmander rolled his eyes and climbed into the hole, gingerly lowering himself in. His claws had trouble finding a grip on the stone floor and he started to slip. Joey caught him around the wrist to prevent him from falling, and Smokey's legs dangled in mid-air. He looked down and could faintly make out the bottom ten feet below. He prepared himself to drop when he realized Joey was still gripping his arm.

"You know you can let go, right?" Smokey said, "I'm supposed to go down."

"Fine," Joey let go of Smokey's claw and the Charmander plummeted. He landed with a hard thud and multiple curses.

"You could've given me some warning before you did that!" Smokey yelled up to his friend. Joey was hidden in the shadows, but that didn't stop his taunts.

"You told me to let go!" Joey laughed before following his friend through the hole. He landed on the ground next to Smokey with a soft thump, "Ten point landing right there."

"Yeah, yeah, where do we go now?" Smokey asked, trying to act like he wasn't jealous of the Pikachu's landing.

Joey unfolded the map and traced across it with his finger. After a few moments, he stopped the tracing and folded the map back into its original state. "The next hole is a little farther away. We'll have to go through the corridor ahead of us, follow it into a chamber and there should be another tunnel that will bring us to the hole. All we have to do is pick the right turns and we'll find it."

Leaky was right about the cave having an electric aura. He didn't know how to describe it,but Joey was able to feel that there was more electricity in the air. It felt charged and smelt of ozone, a feeling that was new to him.

The tunnel was much longer than they expected. It took a solid ten minutes just to get through the boring expanse of rock. Smokey found it weird that they had yet to encounter any native Pokémon. He didn't want to fight, he just found it odd that no one had been attracted to his tail flame, which was the only source of light in the cave.

They stepped into a small cavern once they cleared the tunnel. Smokey flared up his flame so they could see the other end. It worked and the rocky room was illuminated. Joey picked out the route from the number of tunnels and they continued.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Smokey asked Joey, "there aren't many distinguishing features when you're below ground."

"Don't worry. I'm an expert navigator," he said with a wave of his hand, "we just turn here and we'll-WHHHHOOOAAA!"

Smokey lost sight of his friend when he turned the corner and heard a nasty thump on the other side. He cautiously approached the turn and looked down before advancing.

The path they were following had the ground drop out from underneath it, and Joey had fallen into the massive hole. Rubble lined the bottom of the next floor, evidence of a cave-in. By the feeble light of his flame, he noticed Joey stirring on a pile of rocks below. He jumped in next to his friend and helped the still groggy Pikachu up.

"So that's what Leaky meant by cave-ins," Joey muttered, looking back up to the previous level, "I gotta be more careful. That fall hurt."

He unfolded the map to figure out where they were. As he tried to navigate, a drop of red liquid stained the old paper. Joey wiped his forehead and it came bloody. "Yo, Smokey. Is my head cut?"

Smokey looked at his friend more closely and noticed a large gash across the yellow fur on Joey's head. "Yeah, you must've messed your face up on a rock or something."

"Damnit," Joey mumbled. He continued looking at the map despite the fact that blood was dripping into his eye. "Well, I can't find where we are. The cave-in isn't on this map and I can't seem to find an area similar to this."

"So, we're lost," Smokey said.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. We could always just wander for a bit and see if we can find something that resembles that map."

"Are you sure that'll work?"

"You got any better ideas?"

After a few seconds of though, Smokey admitted that he had noting and they started off the nearest tunnel they saw. At every turn, Joey checked the map to see if he could pinpoint their location. It was only until they reached their first cavern that Joey gave an excited yelp, followed by a frustrated groan.

"What's wrong?" Smokey turned and saw that Joey's face was staring at the map dejectedly.

"I got some good news and some bad news," he started while folding the map, "the good news is that I found where we are in this cave."

"And the bad news?"

"We've been heading in the wrong direction for about a half hour. There was another cave-in on the first turn we took. We went straight, but if we had turned left we would've seen it."

With a sigh, the two turned back to the tunnel and retraced their steps. After passing by multiple turns that Joey insisted were the wrong ones, they finally got to the turn closest to their starting point. They followed the new route and entered a large cavern.

Smokey continued without stopping but Joey paused for a moment. The air felt weird here for some reason. It felt like there was a greater amount of electricity coursing through the air and the air itself smelled odd. Smokey noticed he had stopped and turned around to urge him on.

That's when Joey saw the eyes. There was just one pair at first but soon more joined from the darkness. Joey's eyes grew wide with fear and Smokey turned around to face what was there. He brightened his tail flame a little to illuminate the closest one. It was a ball, with one half red and the other white. Its two eyes were on the red half of its body.

"What is it?" Joey asked Smokey quietly.

"A Voltorb," he answered in an equally quiet voice, "they scare really easily so don't so anything that might frighten it. If they get startled, they will Self-Destruct without hesitation to protect themselves."

"Why would they blow themselves up?" asked Joey, "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of protecting yourself if you blow yourself up?

"They don't actually blow up. A Voltorb will combine basically all of its energy and release it all at once in a powerful blast. They usually faint after doing this, so it leaves them really vulnerable."

Out of nowhere, the Voltorb jumped towards them. Surprised by the sudden movement, they jumped back and Smokey's flame flared up in surprise.

The extra light lit up the other Voltorbs. Smokey guessed that there was about thirty in total but he couldn't worry about being precise. The rapid increase of light had scared the Voltorbs into using their most powerful defensive attack. Each one had a pained look on their face and they crackled with electricity.

"Oh, you got to be kidd-" Joey began but was cut off by the massive explosion and he and Smokey were sent flying.

* * *

Outside, the ground shook with the force of the blast. Leaky and Bolts stared at each other as they felt the ground rumble.

"Uh... did you feel that?" Leaky asked the other Pokémon.

"I DID NOT FEEL IT, BUT I SENSED THE GROUND SHAKE," Bolts replied, "I BELIEVE IT MAY HAVE BEEN ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE. THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASED AMOUNT OF SEISMIC ACTIVITY RECENTLY."

Leaky worried what that meant for his friends. Being underground during an earthquake would be much worse than above ground. The walls and ceiling could collapse and trap the two.

"I AM SURE THEY ARE FINE," Bolts said, somehow noticing Leaky's worry, "THE EARTHQUAKE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE TOO POWERFUL. THE CHANCES OF IT DOING ANY MAJOR DAMAGE IS UNLIKELY."

Leaky tried to believe what the Magnemite said, but his thoughts were grim. He just hoped that nothing bad had happened down there.

* * *

Back in the cave, Smokey groaned as he woke up. His whole body ached from the explosion and the fall. He lay on his back staring at the hole in the ceiling. It took him a while to realize that he was looking at two holes in two separate ceilings. The blast had been so powerful that it actually created a hole in both lower floors.

"Hey Joey, check it out," Smokey croaked, "We made it to the bottom floor. Looks like that explosion actually helped us. Right? Joey?"

Smokey rolled over and scanned the room when Joey didn't reply. Maybe he was knocked out by the explosion or fall. They did drop through two floors which was about twenty feet. Only, when he looked around, Joey was nowhere to be found.

He started to panic. If he made it, then Joey must have too. But the only thing in the room was a few knocked Voltorbs and rubble.

"Joey!" he called out, "Joey! Joey, where are you!"

"I'm over here," came a muffled reply. Smokey looked around trying to find the source of the noise but it seemed to be coming from a wall.

"Where are you?" he tried calling out again.

"I'm over here!" he repeated, only this time it was more aggravated. Smokey stared at the solid wall.

"Are you on the other side of this?" he asked in disbelief.

"No shit Sherlock!" he heard Joey shout. Smokey backed up from the seemingly solid wall and noticed that he was just looking at what seemed to be a whole wall. Instead, there was just a large, unbroken piece among the rubble, which created a prison for his friend.

"How am I supposed to get out of here?" Joey asked from the other side.

"Have you tried to climb over it?" Smokey suggested.

"Yeah, I would try that but considering its pitch black in here, I don't think that's going to happen."

"Just use a prolonged electric attack to brighten the room."

"Are you an idiot?" Joey snapped from other side, "No light is getting through. That means there is no sizable gap at the top for me to fit through."

"Well sorry I'm not in your position!" Smokey yelled at his friend. Smoke was starting to come from his nose as his anger rose. Joey was silent for a while. When he spoke, his voice sounded really depressed.

"I don't want to be stuck down here forever," he said quietly so Smokey could barely hear it through the rubble, "I don't want to die in a cave because of some stupid freaking Voltorb."

"Don't say that," Smokey said, hoping boost his friend's mood, "I'll get you out somehow. Maybe I could teleport back to town and get another rescue team."

"No!" Joey shouted again, "do not do that. You have any idea how that will make us look? It'll ruin our reputation as a rescue team if we are in need of rescuing."

Joey was right about that. This was their first mission, and a relatively easy one at that. If word got out that they messed up, they would never get a job offer again.

"Okay, we'll think of something," Smokey told him, "We are not getting our reputation ruined by some stupid Voltorb."

"Hey, don't call us stupid," someone complained from behind him. Smokey spun around to see that one of the Voltorb had woken up. Its eyes were wincing like it was in pain.

"This is all your fault," Smokey growled at the ball, smoke pouring from his nose, "you caused the explosion that got Joey trapped!"

"Look guy, I'm sorry," the Voltorb exclaimed as Smokey approached it, "you scared us when that flame on your tail grew. We get excited easily and we thought you were powering up for an attack."

Smokey took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm his anger. He still puffed out a cloud of dark smoke but he calmed down a bit. If the Voltorb hadn't been so easily excited, they wouldn't have exploded. A light bulb went on in his brain as an idea suddenly formed.

"You can explode at will, right?" he asked the Voltorb. It seemed confused by this and nodded, "you think you and your friends can explode again and blow a hole in this wall?" the expression on its face (or its eyes) changed from confused to sad.

"We need to recharge before we can use Self-Destruct again," it explained, seeming genuinely sorry. Smokey just sighed as the light in his head shattered. He started to lose all hope until a new voice entered.

"MAYBE WE CAN ASSIST IN THIS PROBLEM," said an electronic voice. Smokey turned to see two Magnemite float into the room. They were stuck together by the magnets. He realized that these must be the two friends Bolts had asked him to save.

"Buzz and Frizz, right?" Smokey asked the two. They tilted themselves forward in what he assumed was a nod, "So how can you help?"

"WE ARE ELECTRIC TYPES," they said in unison, "ELECTRIC TYPES CAN RECHARGE OTHER ELECTRIC TYPES."

Smokey turned to the Voltorb for confirmation. It looked uncomfortable when it spoke, "eh, he's right, we can do that," it started nervously, "it hurts like a bitch though, more than Self-Destructing which is essentially blowing yourself," Smokey snorted out a cloud of dark smoke and it quickly added, "but we'll do it to help your friend out."

"Hey, not to interrupt or anything, but I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in here after all," Joey said from the other side, "I don't know what it is but it keeps getting closer."

"Okay, don't worry," Smokey told him, "we're going to use the Voltorb to blow a hole in the wall and then we can save you."

"Sounds great but this thing is getting really close to me," he tried to say calmly but you could hear some worry in his voice. Smokey heard him yelp, "Ah! Get away from me! Hey, stop it! Leave me alone!"

Smokey could hear Joey's screams get fainter as he ran farther away from the wall. He tried to call out to him but got no reply. He checked the progress of their plan but the two Magnemite were still on the first Voltorb.

"Can't you do that any faster?" he asked the Pokémon furiously.

"Dude, chill, this is a long and painful process," the Voltorb managed to say, "Your friend will be fine. There aren't many Pokémon in this cave that are actually a threat."

"Still, can't you do something, like charge two at once?" he suggested. The Magnemite shared a look and the one that wasn't doing anything started to charge another Voltorb. Smokey was getting anxious and tried to weaken the wall with his Ember attack but all it did was leave scorch marks on the rock. Eventually, six of the Voltorb were charged and ready to go. They all clumped together in a tight pack next to the rubble.

"Is everyone ready?" the leader asked his friends. They all nodded in unison. He then said to Smokey and the two Magnemite, "you may want to hide, unless you want to get hit again."

They obliged and took cover behind a boulder. The Voltorb turned back his friends, "alright boys, charge up," he ordered and they all started to crackle with electricity. All six of them released their energy simultaneously in an enormous detonation. For a brief moment, the blast lit up the cave before returning to darkness. Smokey looked up to see that five of six Voltorb had fainted.

Using the dim light from his flame, they approached the fainted Pokémon. The one that was awake was drained of energy and could barely roll to where they were.

"I think we made a hole," it said feebly, "but I'm not sure how big."

Smokey continued to where they had Self-Destructed. The wall had been obliterated, with rubble strewn to the far side of the room. He scanned the room for Joey. He saw a yellow lump huddling in a corner and Smokey ran up to it.

"Joey, are you okay?" he asked his friend. Joey remained in the fetal position.

"I-is it gone?" he whimpered, his voice trembling.

"Is what gone?"

"The-the thing that a-attacked m-m-me!" Joey wailed.

Smokey was confused and looked around them. There was nothing in here except him and Joey since the two Magnemite and the Voltorb stayed back. He was about to explain to his friend that he must have imagined it when he heard a low growling come from behind him. He spun around but saw nothing.

If Joey was attacked by this thing, then it must have been powerful to have defeated him. Smokey readied himself in a battle stance as he prepared to fight this unknown threat.


	9. New Additions

Smokey waited for the thing to show itself. Then he realized, why would he wait for it to show itself when he could just expose the stupid thing himself. His flame flared up and brightened the room fully. A black mass jumped back in surprise.

"Hey, no fair!" cried the Poochyena, as it backed away from the light, "You're cheating!"

Smokey's tail grew bigger, "Not fair!" he roared, "What do you think this is, some sort of game?"

The smaller Pokémon shivered with fear as Smokey yelled. He was about to attack it when the Voltorb rolled in and blocked his way.

"Smokey, chill out," it said to the Charmander, "Hype was honestly just playing. He has a weird definition of fun. He didn't mean to scare Joey."

"Thanks, Sparks," the Poochyena mumbled to the Voltorb. He then looked at Smokey, "I was scared down here and hoped that the Pikachu might have wanted to play to ease the mood."

"Aw man, that's embarrassing," Joey mumbled from across the room. He was out of his huddle and was slumped against the wall, "scared to death by a kid wanting to play."

"WHY IS EVERYONE UPSET?" the Magnemite now entered the room, "JOEY IS UNHARMED AND THE RESCUE MISSION WAS A SUCCESS. THERE IS NO REASON TO BE UNHAPPY AND ALL THE REASON TO REJOICE."

Joey cracked a smile at their logic. As he limped to where his friends were, Smokey became concerned about Joey's injury. No one else seemed to mind, including Joey, as they all came to stand in a circle.

"Sorry about scaring you," the Poochyena mumbled to Joey.

"Hey, don't worry about, "Joey said, accepting the apology, "just ask next time if someone wants to play, before you start."

"EXCUSE MY DISRUPTION, BUT MY ACQUAINTANCE AND I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE," Frizz said, "WE DO NOT ENJOY BEING STUCK TOGETHER."

"ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE ME?" Buzz accused Frizz.

"NO, I AM JUST STATING THAT IT IS UNCOMFORTABLE BEING STUCK TO YOU."

The Magnemite continued to argue back and forth. Despite nearly dying, the rest of the Pokémon laughed. Joey signaled Smokey that it was time to leave and he pressed the button on the badge to teleport them out of there.

* * *

Leaky covered his eyes as a bright light flashed in front of the cave entrance. Six Pokémon spilled out onto the ground in front of them. Leaky recognized Joey, Smokey and the two Magnemite but had no idea who the Voltorb or the Poochyena were.

"YES, I`M FREE! FREE!" Frizz shouted, abandoning his formal vocabulary as it finally parted from Buzz, "OH... I NEARLY FORGOT HOW ONLY HAVING ONE BODY FELT!"

"I KNEW YOU DIDN'T LIKE BEING STUCK TO ME, YOU PILE OF SCRAP!" Buzz shouted at his friend and started to chase Frizz. Leaky turned back to Team Spartan as they picked themselves off the ground.

"So, how was your first official rescue mission?" he asked them. Joey dusted himself off and answered.

"It almost turned into a complete disaster," he said sullenly, "Sparks here, and his friends, decided to self destruct and blast us down to the bottom floor."

"Well that doesn't seem so bad," Leaky said, trying to make the situation sound better. But Smokey continued the story.

"Yeah, you'd think that would be helpful but it wasn't," he explained, "The blast caused Joey to get trapped behind a wall of rubble. It's a good thing that Buzz and Frizz were able to recharge the Voltorb so they could blow a hole in the wall to save Joey."

"So I'm guessing that one behind you is one of these Voltorb?" Leaky asked them. They spun around and seemed surprised when they saw the two other Pokémon, like they were unaware they were there.

"How did you get here?" Joey asked, a little unkindly.

"I think we got caught in the teleport field," Sparks said, also a little confused about the situation, "I guess we were too close to you guys and got teleported here with you."

"Yeah, you got be careful of those," Leaky said, "if you teleport and you're all not within range, you will get left behind."

Smokey took note of this, as it may come in handy later. He almost didn't notice Sparks and Hype walking and rolling back to the cave entrance.

"Hey, Sparks! Hype! Wait up!" Joey called out and the two Pokémon turned around, "before you leave I need to tell you something. What happened down there cannot be known be anyone else."

"Yeah, sure," Hype said turning away but Joey stopped him, "No, I don't think you get it. Absolutely no one else can learn of the events that happened in this cave. Do you understand how important this is?"

"Joey, chill man," Sparks said, seeming to understand Joey's feelings, "I promise you, no one, except us and the other Voltorb, will ever find out about what happened."

Joey thanked them and they headed back into the cave. Leaky looked puzzled by Joey's behavior.

"What was that all about?" Smokey asked him. Joey sighed.

"If anyone found out about that mishap down there, our team's reputation would be ruined," he explained. Leaky and Smokey understood at once. A minor mess up while rescuing could destroy a team's chances of ever becoming famous. Teams like Team ACT and Team Steel had never failed a mission before and they are among the most requested for rescue missions.

Once Bolts had gotten his friends to settle down and stop bickering, he came over to talk with them.

"THANK YOU, TEAM SPARTAN, FOR RESCUING MY FRIENDS," Bolts said, while behind his back, Frizz hit Buzz with one of its magnets, "YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR REWARD IN YOUR MAILBOX TOMORROW."

"Uh... we don't have a mailbox," Smokey reminded the Magnemite. Bolts made a buzzing sound, like he was humming and thinking. After a couple of seconds Bolts said, "I WILL ASK PEPPY TO DELIVER IT TO YOU PERSONALLY THEN."

"Sounds good," Smokey said but Joey asked him quietly, "Uh, who's Peppy?"

"He's the Pelipper who delivers the mail."

"Okay... what's a Pelipper?"

Smokey facepalm'd when he heard this question. It was easy to forget how little Joey knew about Pokémon. He described it as a bird with a big beak and Joey nodded. Buzz hit Frizz off of him and floated up to Smokey. It seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it.

"I WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY REQUEST TO JOIN YOUR TEAM," it suddenly blurted out catching everyone off guard. Smokey cocked his head, Joey raised an eyebrow, Leaky managed to choke on something and Buzz's two Magnemite friends burst out into electronic laughter.

"COME ON, BE SERIOUS BUZZ," Frizz managed through her electronic laughter, "YOU CAN BARELY FIGHT!"

"FRIZZ IS CORRECT, BUZZ," Bolts agreed in a much more formal tone, "YOU HAVE LITTLE COMBAT EXPERIENCE AND WOULD MOST LIKELY BE INJURED GRAVELY."

"YOU TWO NEVER BACK ME UP!" Buzz yelled at his friends. He turned to Team Spartan, "SO CAN I JOIN YOUR TEAM?"

Smokey turned to Leaky and Joey to discuss, "what should we do?" he asked them.

"I think we should let him join," Joey voted, "he was able to power three Voltorb without getting too tired. He might not be the strongest physical fighter but he could use some serious electric attacks."

Smokey and Leaky stared at him in amazement. Yesterday, he had no idea what a Pokémon was and now he was thinking of strategies for them.

"I agree with Joey," Leaky stated after recovering from his surprise, "you may already have an electric type but two could come in handy when fighting a water or flying type."

Smokey nodded in agreement as they reached their decision. He turned back to Buzz to inform him of their choice. Buzz jumped (or bobbed) in joy upon hearing the news and crackled with electricity. Buzz reminded Joey of a Voltorb right before it explodes and he took a wary step back.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" he cried, "YOU WILL NOT REGRET THIS CHOICE!"

Leaky hoped that those kids knew what they were doing. They had just started a team and they had already recruited a new member. He remembered another team that had recruited an inexperienced member, which cost them dearly.

Leaky immediately knew he had thought the trigger and tried to stop it but he had realized it too late. He gave in and collapsed to the ground.

* * *

_Three Pokémon walked along a cliff edge on their way to a mission. They were a mismatched group, consisting of a Lotad, a Flareon and a Sandshrew. Team Nikhse was the name of this particular rescue team._

_"Haren, what was this mission about again?" the Flareon asked. The Sandshrew thought hard to remember the mission but couldn't recall what it was, "I don't know," he admitted, "Leaky knows, don't you?"_

_The Lotad smiled. He barely forgot anything, "I sure do," he answered in voice that seemed too deep to be his, "we just need to follow the coast up to Fantasy Strait and the kid should be in the forest."_

_"Sounds simple enough, right Nadir?" Haron asked. The Flareon flinched when he mispronounced her name._

_"It's _Ardor_, you stupid Sandshrew," she snapped at Haron. He became sad instantly. _

_"Hey, don't go making fun of the newbie," Leaky said, hoping to make Haron feel better, "we all make mistakes. Your name isn't the easiest to remember, you know."_

_"Yeah, I guess," Ardor mumbled. She suddenly stopped as if she felt something. Leaky and Haron stopped to and waited for her._

_"Hey, why'd you stop, Ardor?" Haron asked, managing to get her name right. She continued looking at the sky._

_"It's starting to rain," she grumbled, "I hate the rain."_

_Leaky looked up at the sky and felt a drop of water splash across his face. It looked like Ardor was right about that. He looked over at his new friend, Haron, who they had just recruited that day. He looked grumpy, as he too hated the rain._

_They continued onwards in a sulky silence. No one said anything. Out of the blue, Leaky heard thunder. He stared at the sky but didn't see any lightning. _Odd_, he thought, _lightning always accompanies thunder_. Another rumble was heard, only this time it shook the entire cliff. The group stopped._

_"What... was that?" Haron asked._

_"An earthquake, maybe?" Ardor suggested in a high voice. _

_"That was no earthquake," Leaky stated. He approached the edge of the cliff and looked down into the stormy sea. His friends also followed him. As he searched the waters, he saw something big rushing towards the surface, "Mother of Mew..." he cursed, "get back!"_

_He warned them just in time. They dove back from the cliff edge right as a monstrous Gyarados pulverized the spot where they had been standing moments before. It towered above them, standing at about twenty feet higher than the cliff. Before any of them could move it unleashed an ear-splitting shriek. Team Nikhse covered their ears at the same time to block out the horrible sound._

_Leaky recovered the fastest, just in time to see the Gyarados prepare for another attack. He warned his friends who seemed to understand just in time. The massive water Pokémon lunged at them and they barely got out of the way. It crashed into the cliff, cracking it all across. Leaky's eyes grew as he realized what was going to happen next. He tried to run past the crack but was too slow._

_The rock face plunged into the sea, taking him and his two friends with it. He was under the water briefly but surfaced quickly. Leaky searched for his teammates in the water but couldn't find them until Haron broke the surface with Ardor under his arm. _

_Leaky swam as fast as could to support his friends, who were struggling just to stay afloat. Right as he reached them, the Gyarados exploded out of the water ten feet away. Quick as lightning, it grabbed Team Nikhse in a powerful bind attack and dragged them under the water._

_Leaky's slippery skin allowed him to escape Gyarados' grasp with ease. He took hold of Haron's free arm and tried to pull him free to but he wasn't strong enough. He attempted the same with Ardor but she didn't budge. They both looked at him with pained expressions. As one, they shouted 'go!' in a burst of bubbles and they succumbed to the sea. _

_Leaky obeyed his friends' final wish and swam to the surface alone. He bobbed there and cried for his friends, cried for his mother and father but no one came. He was alone..._

* * *

"Leaky! Leaky!" someone shouted into his ear. Leaky regained consciousness and stared into the eyes of his concerned friends, "thank the Legendaries, he's awake."

Leaky stood back up on unsteady feet. He hadn't had a flashback for years but he'd never forget that night. He had sat in that sea for a full day before a pack of Lapras brought him to safety. The faces of his old rescue team were engraved eternally in his mind.

Joey and Smokey had looks of the most sincere concern on their faces that Leaky hadn't ever seen. They reminded him so much of his teammates, he came close to tearing up. But he was stronger than that. He promised himself right there, that he would do everything in his power to protect these kids from the same fate his old friends had years ago.


	10. Dugtrio's Request

Smokey woke up early the next morning. The adventures from the day before had drained both him and Joey, so they pretty much fell asleep almost as soon as they got back. Buzz went home with his friends to the old factory they lived in, deciding that their shack wouldn't be the best place for him to spend his nights. He got up before the sun had risen and was waiting outside for the mail. Joey was sleping like a Snorlax inside, so Smokey didn't bother to wake him.

He had no idea how long he waited for but Peppy eventually showed up with their reward from their first mission. Smokey took it inside and spilled the contents onto the stone table. A pile of Poké fell out and he started to count it greedily. There was a good two thousand Poké laying in front of him. He let out a long whistle. There was more money in front of him than he had seen for nearly four years.

The house started to shake slightly, cutting his mental celebration short. At first he thought it was an earthquake, but it seemed too small to be one. Suddenly, he heard the splintering of wood come from behind him. He spun around just in time to see the still sleeping Joey fly through the air and crash into the wall.

"OW!" he yelled as he hit the ground, "what kind of earthquake does that?"

Smokey looked at Joey laying on the floor to where he was sleeping. In the place of the rotted wood were three brown lumps. Smokey recognized them as a Dugtrio.

"You ever heard of a door?" Joey snapped once he recovered from being tossed like a ragdoll. As one, the three heads turned to Joey with a scowl.

"We are sorry for our intrusion," it apologized, with a hint of irritation in its voice, "but this is a really urgent matter."

"Okay, explain yourself," Smokey told the Dugtrio.

"Well... where do we start," one of them said, "Diglett and Dugtrio tend to shake the earth a bit when we dig so it seems like there's an earthquake. With all the recent ones, a Skarmory thought it was our fault. So to get back at us, it... it... it kidnapped our son."

"That's harsh," Smokey commented. One of the heads broke down and started to cry.

"It kidnapped our Linus for a crime we didn't commit!" it wailed. One of the other heads comforted it while it sobbed.

"You see how desperate we are," the free head said. Smokey nodded but Joey was still a bit angry from getting thrown across the room.

"We know you're desperate but you could've had at least used the door," he ridiculed them. The head that was comforting the crying one turned to him.

"We tried to send a letter but the post office said they couldn't deliver to you," it retorted, "They didn't specify the reason. And we would have used the door but it's hard to tell exactly where you are underground, and this seemed like the softest spot."

Joey glared at the Dugtrio briefly before accepting the response. Smokey gave a quiet chuckle at his friend's reaction. He seemed to hate when he got beaten in an argument.

"Where did this Skarmory take your son?" he asked, getting over the argument, "you do know where he is, right?"

"It took him to Mt. Steel," it sighed, "the mountain is too dense, so we can't borrow through it and our son can't either. We need someone to get him for us."

"We feel grateful for choosing us," Smokey began, looking slightly confused, "but why did you choose us? We only just started yesterday. Why didn't you ask a stronger team, like Team Steel?"

"Because Manac is a dried up douche bag, that's why," Joey mumbled darkly in the corner. They disregarded his comment and Dugtrio resumed.

"Team Steel is a steel type based team," it explained, "you two both have a type advantage against a Skarmory. It would be easier for you to beat it. Also, Team Steel costs too much."

It added that last part in a mutter so only Joey managed to hear it. He bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.

"Well, we will rescue your son," Smokey said and all three heads cried in joy.

"Thank you so much," one said, tears filling its eyes, "you won't regret this."

They tunneled back underground, leaving a hole in the floor. Smokey turned to Joey.

"Guess we better get prepared then," Joey said. Smokey nodded.

"We should split up," he suggested, "you go get Buzz from the Power Plant and I'll go ask Leaky for some advice on what we should watch out for in Mt. Steel. That way, we save some well needed time."

Joey agreed with the idea and Smokey gave him directions to the Power Plant. They went down separate paths to their different destinations.

* * *

"Leaky!" Smokey shouted to get the Lombre's attention. It worked and the water type turned.

"Hey, Smokey, how you doing?" he asked as Smokey ran over, "you're up early today."

"Yeah, we just got a mission," Smokey panted out.

"Another one! You guys are on fire."

"A Dugtrio showed up in our house to request it. Their kid was kidnapped by a Skarmory and was taken to Mt. Steel. Do you have any advice for us?"

"Whoa, Mt. Steel already?" he said amazed, "You guys don't have to worry about much. Geodude and Aron inhabit the cave but that's the only Pokémon you have a strong disadvantage against. Others like Zigzagoon, Meditite and Spearow also live there."

"Is that all you know?" Smokey asked when Leaky paused.

"No, there are a couple more things. While Skarmory is weak against both fire and electric attacks, it is powerful. If it's the one I think it is, you have to be careful. She will trick you into thinking she's beaten then surprise you. The mountain itself isn't that dangerous. There's a lot of deep gorges you can fall into and rockslides are frequent but that's as dangerous as it gets."

"Watch out for Geodude, Aron, landslides, gorges and a deceitful Skarmory," Smokey said while ticking off his claws, "I think I got all of it. Thanks!"

Smokey turned to run off when another idea came to mind. He faced Leaky again, "I need you to do something for me while we're gone, is that okay?" he asked. Leaky raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, what is it?" Leaky asked with interest. Smokey told him what to do and handed him a sack of Poké before running off to join Joey at the base of Mt. Steel.

* * *

"Took you long enough!"

Joey and Buzz trudged along the road towards Mt. Steel, where Smokey was waiting for them. Somehow, he had managed to get there before the other two and they had the shorter walk.

"Don't blame it on me," Joey said, attempting to defend himself, "Buzz told me there was a short cut."

"IT WAS NOT MY FAULT," Buzz countered defiantly, "IF YOU HAD FOLLOWED MY DIRECTIONS, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED A SHORT CUT."

"Just shut your mouth."

"I DO NOT HAVE A MOUTH TO SHUT."

"Then how to you speak?"

"I HAVE A SPEAKER WHICH I USE TO COMMUNICATE."

"Good, then put it on mute. You're starting to bug me."

Smokey watched the two electric types argue back and forth like a tennis match. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing but he still smiled goofily. Joey walked past him, grumbling under his breath. Smokey locked eyes with Buzz who just rolled his one eye. Smokey lost restraint and let out a burst of laughter. Joey let out an annoyed sigh, trying to keep his anger in check.

"So what did Leaky tell you about this place?" he asked Smokey. He relayed what Leaky had said to Joey and Buzz.

"Okay, I know what a Geodude is, but what is an Aron?" Joey asked, once he had taken in all of Leaky's information.

"I don't really know how to describe it," Smokey stated but tried anyways, "it's like a turtle, only with a white shell and a white helmet covering its face and head."

"Seems simple enough," Joey responded. They all looked towards the cave entrance.

"We all ready?" Smokey asked nervously. Everyone nodded grimly, "then let's go."

Smokey took the first step into the cave entrance and the other two followed. Just like Thunderwave Cave, it got dark just a few steps in. Smokey's flame kept it bright enough for them to see where they were going.

"Hey Buzz," Smokey said, trying to start up a conversation to pass the time, "I don't mean to offend you, but what gender are you? I can never tell with Magnemite."

"THAT WAS NOT OFFENSIVE," Buzz said, "MAGNEMITE HAVE NO GENDERS. WE ARE ALL THE SAME."

"Wait, no genders?" Joey asked, "How do you reproduce then?"

"HOW WE REPRODUCE IS NO MATTER TO YOU."

"So what do we refer to you as? A 'he' or a 'she'?"

"YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS BUZZ."

"Okay, we'll call you a 'he'."

"THAT IS OFFENSIVE. I AM NOT A 'HE'."

"Fine, we'll call you a 'she'."

"THAT IS ALSO OFFENSIVE. I AM NEITHER A 'SHE' NOR A 'HE'."

"Then what do we call you when we don't refer to you as 'Buzz'?"

"YOU MAY CALL ME BUZZ."

Joey groaned in frustration as this discussion just went in circles, "Just shut your mouth, you're starting to annoy me."

"I DO NOT HAVE A MOUTH TO SHUT."

"Dammit, you know what I mean!"

Smokey was dying of laughter in the lead while listening to them fight. Try as you might, you could never win an argument with a machine. His laughing was disrupted by a low growl. Team Spartan immediately got into a battle stance, setting up for a fight. Out of the shadows, a Pokémon with spiky brown and beige fur stepped out. It had a black blotch on its face, which made it look like a raccoon.

"What is that?" Joey asked Smokey, not taking his eyes off the raccoon.

"It's a Zigzagoon. Normal type, so we don't have any advantages or disadvantages," Smokey told him. The Zigzagoon was the one who was growling but something didn't seem right to Joey. Then he knew why. There was more than just one source of the growling.

Buzz switched on his spotlight, illuminating the faces of a dozen more Zigzagoon which had surrounded them. Team Spartan backed up into each other.

"Looks like we got a rescue team in our midst, fellas," the closest one said, which Smokey presumed was the pack leader, "I think we should show them what happens when you invade someone else's territory."

This was met by a round of sniggering from his pack. Joey's anger started to rise and he tried to keep it under control.

"We're just passing through to go save a Diglett," Joey said, in an attempt to explain their situation, "if you don't mind, we would like to avoid an incident."

"_If you don't mind we would like to avoid an incident_," the leader repeated in a high and annoying voice.

"I do _not_ sound like that!"Joey bellowed and rushed the leader. Smokey grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back. Joey's arms flailed wildly for a few seconds before he stopped and just glared at the leader.

"If you didn't want a fight, you shouldn't have become a rescue team," the leader scorned. Smokey struggled to keep Joey back while Buzz floated over to them.

"THIS IS HARDLY A FAIR FIGHT," Buzz commented, "IT WILL BE FOUR ON ONE. NOT A VERY NOBLE THING TO DO, GANGING UP ON A SMALLER GROUP."

"Oh yeah," the leader snarled, "then how 'bout a one on one, a mon on mon. Me against your hyper little friend."

"Deal," Joey snarled, "now let me go so I can kick this rodent's ass."

Smokey obliged and let go of him. Joey rushed over to the leader and stopped a foot away.

"Let's lay down some ground rules first," the leader began and Joey agreed, "First rule; no leaving the ring. You do that, you forfeit the match. Second; no special attacks. That means no electric attacks from you. And last but not least; no outside help. Your friends can't assist you in any way, shape or form. That means no advice, no attacks and definitely no distractions. Anything else is fair game. You got that?"

"Sounds good to me," Joey said, agreeing to the terms. Not being able to use electric attacks would mean that his most powerful moves were out of the play, but that didn't bother him that much. Before becoming a Pokémon, Joey had gotten into a lot of fights in school. He was experienced with using just his fists to fight. The Zigzagoon formed a circle around Joey and their leader. They squared off on opposite sides, about five feet from the edge of the ring. Joey stood on his hind legs and went into a boxing stance.

"Come on, bring it, you little punk," Joey mumbled, holding his tiny fists in front of his face and bouncing up and down.. The leader laughed hysterically from Joey's stance.

"Check this guy out," he laughed, "this Pikachu thinks he's a Machop!"

Joey stopped bouncing and lowered his guard, "what the hell is a Macho-OOF!" While he was distracted, the Zigzagoon took it as an opportunity to land the first strike. His Headbutt sent Joey skidding to edge of the circle. Smokey groaned. This was not a good start for Joey. His friend recovered quickly and got up.

"You're going to pay for that," he told the leader in a low growl. The leader smirked.

"Let's see you try," it responded and charged Joey again. Joey waited for the last moment and dodged, letting the leader run by. As he came to a stop and started to turn, Joey charged him with a Quick Attack, hitting the leader in the side. He was sent skidding but he used the momentum to roll back onto his feet.

"Well, this should be fun," it grinned and charged Joey again. He was getting sick of this and decided just to punch him out. He balled his hand into fists and waited until he was close enough to strike. He swung his fist, attempting to hit him in the face.

Joey missed the punch completely and was rocked by the Zigzagoon's Tackle. Joey got up, wincing in pain. He had never been in a fight like this. His opponent was using his body more than his fists and Joey wasn't used to that. He had to adapt soon or he was going to lose this fight.

"You've had enough yet?" the leader asked with a sneer. Joey responded by using a Headbutt of his own, hitting the leader in the ribs once again. The Zigzagoon snarled and pounced on Joey, who was caught off guard and collapsed under the weight. Joey fell on something that dug into his back but he didn't focus on it all that much because he had the pack leader pinning him down.

"Ha ha, I've got you pinned," he taunted Joey. The Pikachu tried to squirm out of it but his shoulders were pinned so he couldn't do anything with his fists.

"Not for long," Joey growled and placed his feet on the Zigzagoon's stomach. It had just enough time to say 'huh?' before Joey extended his legs suddenly. The leader was thrown off of him and Joey used the momentum of his kick to roll backwards onto his feet. While he rolled, he picked up the thing that was digging into his back and hid it from sight.

All that was done in one swift movement. Buzz seemed to be the only one in the ring that saw Joey pick something up off the ground. Then again, Buzz never missed anything.

The leader struggled back onto his feet. He seemed to be in pain and growled angrily at Joey. He charged him quickly but Joey was prepared this time. Before the Zigzagoon could react, Joey pulled his arm back and threw what he was holding at the charging Pokémon.

The rock hit him right between the eyes, sending him head over toe. The leader came to a rest by the edge of the circle, knocked out cold. Smokey and Buzz started to cheer while the other Zigzagoon looked mortified.

"I think that means I won," Joey stated, looking into the Zigzagoons' horrified faces, "so we'll be leaving now, since your leader has been knocked the hell out."

"You cheated!" one of them claimed, "You threw a rock at him. That's what knocked him out."

"JOEY FOLLOWED THE RULES YOUR LEADER MADE," Buzz jumped in, "HE DID NOT USE ANY OF HIS SPECIAL ATTACKS, DID NOT RECEIVE HELP FROM SMOKEY AND I AND NEVER LEFT THE RING. YOUR LEADER SAID ANYTHING ELSE WAS FAIR GAME, MAKING ROCK THROWING LEGAL."

"Yeah...b-but...," the Zigzagoon tried to think of something but just sputtered out nonsense. Smokey gave a small chuckle. You can never beat a machine in an argument. The one that talked let out a resigned sigh, "fine... just... just go."

The Zigzagoon broke their circle and the members of Team Spartan walked through the opening. Once out of range, Smokey broke into a small celebration.

"I knew you could do it, Joey!" he exclaimed and smacked his friend on the back, "that stupid rodent didn't know what hit him."

Joey started to laugh but stopped soon after, wincing in pain. His ribs felt like they had been bruised badly from the fight. Smokey, noticing his friend's discomfort, brought out a blue berry from the toolbox and handed it to Joey. Joey looked at the berry in confusion.

"It's an Oran Berry," Smokey explained, remembering that Joey didn't use natural methods of healing, "it has properties that heals wounds really well. All you have to do is eat it."

Joey popped the berry into his mouth and tasted an explosion of different flavours. He munched it for a while, savouring the taste, before finally swallowing it. The berry's healing effects were immediate, repairing his wounds almost instantly. Joey wiggled his whole body, feeling great.

They travelled through the mountain's multiple floors without incident, meeting no hostile Pokémon. At one point, Smokey reached down and plucked a wild mushroom off the floor. Being his favourite, he bit down on the dome of it and chewed it. It tasted a more bitter than usual but that was just because it wasn't ripe yet.

The team was chatting about unimportant stuff, like berries and their properties and different types of Pokémon to help Joey better understand them. They had just decided that Buzz was a guy (much to Buzz's insisting that he was neither) when they heard a shout from behind them. They spun around to face the voice.

"You cheap little rat!" they heard it yell, the voice echoing of the walls, "I'm gonna make you pay for using that dirty trick."

Buzz switched on his spotlight to brighten the angry Zigzagoon leader. He was charging them at full speed, its head down like it was preparing for a Headbutt. Joey groaned in frustration. He had had enough of this guy.

Instead of dodging the attack like he would normally do, he ran forward and jumped. Time moved in slow-motion for him. As Joey started to descend from the jump, he brought his fist down hard against the top of the leader's head. He punched him with enough force that sent the Zigzagoon's jaw into the dirt floor, while Joey completed a front flip over him.

"Are tired of losing yet?" Joey demanded after landing, "or do you want me to continue with your beat down?"

"Okay, I got your point," the leader moaned, "I'll stop trying to attack you."

"Do you promise you won't try to attack us anymore?"

"Yes, yes! I've learned my lesson."

"Good. I was getting sick of you."

Joey left the battered Zigzagoon, taking him on his word that he wouldn't try anymore shenanigans. He rubbed his knuckles, not menacingly, but because he had punched the Pokémon's skull really hard. Blood was smeared across the back of his hand, but not much so he ignored the pain. Joey and his friends turned away from the beaten leader and continued on with their mission.


	11. A Pyschic Scrap

Smokey groaned and clutched his stomach. Beads of sweat covered his forehead.

"Are you alright?" Joey asked when he heard the groan.

"Yeah, I'm good," he nodded, "I think that mushroom I ate wasn't really ripe yet."

"That's what you get for eating random things off the ground," Joey grinned. Smokey groaned again,which wiped the smile from Joey's face, "are sure you're alright?" he asked.

"I said, I'm good!" Smokey snapped, unconvincingly. Joey rolled his eyes and decided to back off the subject. He started to pick up some extra light. They turned the corner to see an opening in the wall, which lead to the path outside. When they stepped out of the cave and into the open air, their eyes were momentarily blinded by the light. Joey stood there, blinking for a while, before noticing something strange.

"This isn't the peak!" he exclaimed in surprise. Buzz rolled his eye.

"OF COURSE, WE STILL HAVE TO CLIMB TO THE TOP," he explained, "DID YOU REALLY EXPECT TO JUST WALK ONTO THE PEAK?"

"A little..." Joey mumbled. They trekked along a fairly wide and rocky path, which ran along a deep gorge that was filled with jagged spires of rock. They didn't talk and the silence was only broken by Smokey's pained groans. Joey was worried that he might be suffering from food poisoning when he saw a small red orb in the cracks. He pointed it out to Buzz.

"THAT IS A CHERI BERRY," he told Joey, "IT HAS THE ABILITY TO CURE PARALYSIS AND MAKES A NICE TREAT, IF YOU LIKE SPICY FLAVOURS."

Joey figured that it would be useful in case of accidental paralysis. He bent down to scoop up the berry, just as Smokey launched an Ember at him. He felt the heat of the fireball sail over him, missing him by millimetres. Joey stood up straight as the ball of fire exploded against the rocks.

"What was that for?" Joey demanded angrily, spinning around to face Smokey. His anger morphed into confusion when he saw his friend's face. Smokey looked really angry. Black smoke was pouring from his nostrils and he was panting hard. His eyes seemed to boil with rage. Joey took a wary step back, in case he launched another Ember at him.

"Smokey, what's wrong?" Joey asked cautiously, "if you want the berry, you can have it. I don't even like spic-"

"DIE!" he yelled suddenly and charged Joey. The Pikachu cursed and dove out of the way, barely managing to avoid his friend. Joey rolled to his feet to see Smokey trying to grab Buzz, who just bobbed lazily above him.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Joey yelled at the Charmander. His voice caused Smokey to whip his head towards Joey. That's when he realized something was odd about his friend, other than his sudden urge to kill him.

Smokey's eyes had a red tinge to them, making him look a whole lot more evil. Joey just had time to register this before the fire type charged him again. Instead of dodging, Joey stuck out his leg, tripping the bigger Pokémon. He used this distraction to join Buzz.

"Why is Smokey doing this?" he asked the Magnemite, "Has he gone crazy? Maybe the mushrooms he ate are causing him to want kill everything that moves?"

"I'M AFRAID THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MUSHROOMS," Buzz stated, "THE RED TINGE IN HIS EYES IS NOT USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD POISONING."

Smokey was back on his feet. He spat another Ember at Joey and he just barely managed to dodge it. As he ducked the fireball, Smokey rushed them again. It was easy for Buzz to dodge him; all he had to do was float over the Chamander. Joey didn't have it as easy and had to dive towards the edge of the cliff, rolling to his feet just on the edge.

"Then what's causing him to go psycho?" Joey yelled to his sane teammate, who once again had drawn Smokey's attention away from the Pikachu. Buzz looked around and made out a levitating figure that was hovering above the rocky ridge, opposite to the gorge. He felt the gears literally click in his brain when he arrived at the conclusion.

"IT IS THAT MEDITITE'S FAULT," he said calmly, pointing it out with one of his magnets, "THAT POKÉMON IS USING ITS PSYCHIC POWERS TO CONTROL SMOKEY."

Joey spun towards where Buzz was directing him. Sure enough, a blue creature, with what resembled a white turnip on its head, was floating above the incline next to the path. Joey realized that in order to free Smokey, he had to defeat the Meditite.

He started to power up for a Thunderbolt attack when Smokey's attention switched to Pikachu. The Meditite must have also figured out what Joey was planning on doing and made Smokey attack him. Before Joey could release the attack, Smokey tackled him, nearly making them both roll into the gorge below. They wrestled down the path before coming to a stop just by the edge, with Smokey on top of Joey.

"DIE!" Smokey snarled at his friend, while trying to bite his throat. He kept repeating that, elevating Joey's anger.

"Is that all you can say?" Joey choked out, "try something different, you psychic prick!"

"Then die slowly, Joey," he said slowly, his eyes bulging out of his skull. Joey swore loudly, not out of anger, but out of fear. It was infinitely times creepier when he said his name because Smokey's voice was not his own. It sounded contorted, like two different voices were speaking at once.

"Buzz, help me!" Joey managed to say. Buzz floated there, unsure of what to do. His friend was attempting to hold back Smokey, but was losing that fight. Joey had pressed one hand against the Charmander's jaw, keeping it closed while his other hand was trying to push him off. Smokey, the bigger of the two, had both hands around the Pikachu's neck, strangling the life out of him.

Buzz had to do something, or Joey would die. On the other hand, if he attacked Smokey, he could die. He tried to think of a way to save both of his friends but just couldn't come up with one. He noticed the sparks coming from Joey's cheeks as he fought. That gave him an idea.

The power inside of his started to grow but he wouldn't need that much. Once he measured the correct amount, he released it at the fighting Pokémon. The electricity burst from his magnets in a thin stream of lightning. It struck Smokey in his side and he toppled off of Joey, who sucked in a raspy breath and started to cough.

"Took you long enough," he spat once he recovered, "were you planning on waiting until he killed me?"

"I AM SORRY, JOEY," Buzz said, his electronic voice filled with what seemed like sadness, "I WAS UNSURE OF WHAT TO DO. A SOLUTION THAT WOULD NOT BE FATAL TO EITHER OF YOU COULD NOT BE THOUGHT OF QUICKLY."

"Don't worry about it," Joey sighed. He hated when his anger got the better of him, causing him to hurt his friend's feelings. The fact that he managed to hurt a robot's emotions, which were supposed to be non-existent, made him feel worse. He looked over at Smokey, who lay twitching on the ground. This prompted Joey to ask, "Is he going to be okay?"

"SMOKEY WILL BE FINE," Buzz reassured him, "THE ATTACK, THUNDERWAVE, ONLY PARALYZES AN ENEMY WITH AN ELECTRIC SHOCK. THIS WILL RENDER OUR FRIEND HARMLESS FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME."

"But if he's paralyzed, how could he still be twitching like that?"

"THOSE MOVEMENTS ARE INVOLUNTARY. I FEAR WE MAY HAVE OTHER, MORE SERIOUS THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT IN THE TIME BEING." Buzz pointed towards the rocky slant. Joey followed his magnet's path to the Meditite that was still hovering above them.

His anger took control again. Joey dashed up the rocky slope and faced the Pokémon that was controlling his friend. Its eyes glowed a deep blue and looked like it was in a trance. Realizing that this was his chance to catch him off guard, he lunged at it.

The Meditite slapped Joey with a backhand, causing him to go flying back to the peak of the hill. He grasped a hold of a rock to prevent him from falling but it tore loose of the ground, sending him back down to the path.

"YOU CANNOT DEFEAT HIM WITH PHYSICAL ATTACKS," Buzz called down from the top of the hill, "A MEDITITE IS A FIGHTING AND PSYCHIC TYPE POKEMON. IT WILL NOT LOOSE IN A PHYSICAL BATTLE."

Taking this into consideration, Joey fired a Thunderbolt attack at it from below. However, it blocked the lightning with a kick, dispersing the electricity into harmless sparks. Joey stared helplessly back at the Magnemite, who seemed just as confused as he was.

"What do we do now?" he yelled at his teammate. Before Buzz could respond, Joey saw movement coming from farther down the path. He turned to see Smokey struggling to his feet, his body still twitching with electricity, "Buzz, I thought paralyzed means you couldn't move," he called over his shoulder.

"THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF PARALYZE," he replied back.

"Then explain to me how Smokey is able to stand!" he yelled. Smokey had dark smoke flowing from his nose.

"Your puny attacks do nothing to hinder me," he said in the frightening mix of voices. Joey took a involuntary step back in panic.

"JOEY, THE MEDITITE HAS TO LOSE FOCUS IF IT IS TO RELEASE SMOKEY FROM ITS CONTROL," Buzz told him. Joey glared behind him at the Magnemite.

"We already know that, but how can we make it lose focus if we can't even touch it?" he demanded.

"IF WE ATTACK AT THE SAME TIME, THERE MIGHT BE ENOUGH POWER TO HARM IT."

Joey understood and started to power up for another Thunderbolt. The bad thing about having to say your strategy out loud, is that your opponents can hear exactly what you're planning. The Meditite, of course, heard their plan and using its psychic powers, freed Smokey's body from the paralysis. It made the Charmander rush Joey as he powered up for his attack.

He was knocked over as Smokey collided with him. He felt his control over the electricity fade as he grappled for the advantage over his hypnotized friend. Once again, Smokey had the smaller Pikachu pinned down under his weight, a vicious snarl on his face.

Frustration and panic started to overcome Joey's mind. His quick thinking brain abandoned him as he fought the losing battle. Luckily for him, Buzz was able to draw his mind from panic.

"JUST USE THE ATTACK NOW!" he yelled. Obeying his instructions, he let go of the bigger Pokémon on top of him. He was able focus on the task and started to gather all the energy inside of him.

"NOW!" Joey ordered, even with Smokey's claws clenched around his throat. At the same time, Buzz and Joey released two powerful electrical surges at the Meditite.

It opened its eyes to observe what was happening and witnessed the two bolts of lightning merge into one as they headed towards it. The massive electrical attack hit the Meditite square in the chest, sending it flying towards the gorge. The concentration it used for controlling Smokey and levitating in the air was lost as it plummeted into the chasm.

Smokey's eyes turned back to normal and he released Joey with a sudden gasp. He rolled off his friend, who was close to blacking out, and passed out himself. Joey managed to pick himself off the ground, having drained himself of most of his energy on the two attacks.

He stumbled over to the edge of the path to observe the fate of the Meditite. After a brief glance, Joey threw up on the rock. He wasn't prepared for what he had seen. Buzz joined him and glanced over the side, only to jump back in disgust a moment later.

The Meditite, having been unable to control his fall, had landed on one of the many rock spires that lined the bottom of the chasm. The sharp stone had pierced the Pokémon's back and burst out of its chest. Joey held his head in his hands after being sick, trying to get rid of that image.

No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't remove the expression of the Meditite's lifeless face from his mind. It was frozen in a silent scream, its eyes wide open in shock. The memory of his own death came back to him and he wondered if that was how he had looked after he died. Buzz came over and tried to comfort him.

"IT HAD TO BE DONE," he said to the disturbed Pikachu, "WE DID WHAT WAS NECESSARY TO SAVE OURSELVES."

"We didn't have to kill it," Joey whispered, "w-we could have just knocked it out, not sent it off a cliff to get impaled on a spike."

"WOULD YOU RATHER IT HAVE BEEN ONE OF US THAT WAS DEAD OR THE POKÉMON THAT TRIED TO KILL US?" Buzz asked rhetorically. Joey figured he was right. The fact that he killed another Pokémon shouldn't upset him so much when he was trying to protect himself and his friends.

He pushed the incident to the back of his mind to deal with later. Smokey was still passed out, and he had been through more than any of them. If anyone was need of help from what just happened, Smokey was in the most need of comfort.


	12. A Fiery Finish

Team Spartan climbed to the peak in silence. Once Smokey woke up, he didn't want to talk about what had happened. Every couple of minutes he would clutch his stomach in pain, still being affected by the bad mushroom.

He trailed behind Buzz and Joey on the path. While Smokey was still out, Buzz had nearly forced an apple down Joey's throat so he could regain some energy. Once he had stopped coughing up chunks of fruit, he did manage to regain most of his strength.

Joey knew that Smokey felt really bad for trying to kill them, even when they insisted that they didn't mind because he wasn't in control. That knowledge didn't matter, and the incident still weighed heavily on Smokey's conscience.

The others didn't know, but Smokey remembered the whole thing. When being controlled, he witnessed the fight from his perspective like he was the one actually trying to kill his friends. He felt the pain of their blows, the sting of the punches, the burn of electricity and the helplessness of paralysis. It was one of the worst things he had ever experienced, almost as bad as the day of his mother's capture. The pain of that memory came back and he pushed it back, trying to block it out.

It took Smokey a while to realize that while he had been immersed in thought, that they had reached a plateau. It was barren and the only place higher than them was a small stone pillar that was isolated by a deep chasm.

"So this is the peak, right?" Joey asked, half yelling his question in frustration.

"WE HAVE ARRIVED AT THE HIGHEST POINT, SO YES, IT IS THE PEAK," Buzz confirmed.

"Ugh... Took us long enough," Joey said, letting out a long sigh, "so where's this kid?"

"Take a guess," Smokey said, pointing over the edge. The team followed his finger to the pillar. On top, a small brown lump could just be seen. Joey started to rage when he saw that's where Linus was.

"Oh, that's just great!" he yelled, "of course a bird Pokémon would have to ditch the kid on the one part of the freaking mountain that we can't reach!"

"IT IS LOGICAL TO ASSUME THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SKARMORY WAS THINKING WHEN CHOOSING THAT LOCATION TO ABANDON THE DIGLETT," Buzz stated blandly, which only enraged Joey further.

"Buzz, just shut your mouth, okay? I am in no mood for your stupid logic," Joey fumed.

"I CANNOT CLOSE MY MOUTH BECAUSE I HAVE NO MOUTH TO CLOSE," Buzz said quickly and quietly, backing swiftly away from the Pikachu to avoid his reaction.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT, DAMMIT!" Joey screamed at the Magnemite. Smokey burst into laughter but it quickly died when another voice was heard.

"Are you guys a rescue team?" it called. Team Spartan turned towards voice to realize the Diglett was talking. Smokey was the first to respond.

"Yes we are, we came to rescue you," he told Linus. Normally, being told you were getting rescued would make you happy. Upon hearing Smokey, Linus burst into a high pitch wail, like he was crying. The others had no idea what caused this reaction.

"Y-y-you shouldn't h-h-have c-came!" he managed to say between his sobs, "S-she s-said that if a-anyone c-came to re-rescue me that she was going to k-k-k-kill me and the rescue t-team!"

"What are you saying?" Smokey asked the Diglett, fear creeping into his voice.

"I'm saying that this is a trap! For you!" he yelled, his voice echoing across the cavern. Joey looked over to his friend.

"Does this remind you of Caterpie or is it just me?" he said in a low whisper. Smokey nodded quickly before an ear-splitting shriek filled the air. They all covered their ears, even Buzz. A giant, metal bird was floating in a space which had been empty only a few seconds before.

"So, the Diglett's parents thought they could outsmart me, huh?" it cackled in delight. Joey could tell that the Skarmory was a woman, mostly because she sounded like an old witch, "I shall enjoy dismembering you pests."

"Keep on talking, you metal chicken," Joey started to taunt, "we all got type advantages against you. You don't stand a chance!"

"Uh... Joey?" Smokey poked him and said in a low voice, "Just because we have type advantages over doesn't mean we can beat her easily. If she has enough experience, she can still cream us."

The Pikachu's arms fell down to his sides, "Are you serious?" he hissed, "Why are you just telling me this?" Smokey shrugged in his defense causing Joey to emit a long groan of frustration.

"Are you done chit-chatting yet because I'm itching for a fight," the Skarmory said from the edge of the cliff. Joey rolled his eyes and was about to make a nasty remark but Smokey cut him off.

"We're going to tell you this once, okay?" Smokey informed her, "You have one chance to give us the Diglett or we will have to hurt you."

"Oh, that is so cute!" she cackled in delight, "Are you trying to threaten me? You barely look like you can hurt a fly."

"Tell that to the Meditite we impaled on a spike at the bottom of a gorge!" Joey snapped at her in anger. The Skarmory's eyes grew wide in shock, which quickly changed to anger.

"You killed Rixa?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Joey nodded deviously and she started to scream, "You killed Rixa! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"

She dove at the rescue team and they scattered. Her steel wing clipped Joey, knocking him across the plateau. Smokey rolled to his feet and launched an Ember attack at the metal Pokémon. To his horror, only a small fireball came out.

"Smokey, what kind of attack was that?" Joey yelled at him from across the battle, "If you're going to attack, at least try to put some effort into it!"

The Charmander's stomach sent out another wave of pain, and he doubled over. The Skarmory acted upon his moment of weakness and went in for an attack. Luckily for Smokey, Buzz knocked the bird out of the air with a Thundershock.

"FRIEND, YOU NEED TO BE MORE AWARE OF THE BATTLE," Buzz told Smokey, who was standing back up on shaky legs. All he could do was give a brief nod before the Skarmory recovered from the electric attack.

"So, you little pests are actually good fighters," she growled, "Looks like I'll have to try now."

She flapped her wings quickly, creating a sharp wind that struck Buzz hard that sent him crashing into a boulder. Joey charged up for an attack but she used the same move on him, knocking the Pikachu to the side of the cliff. While she was attacking the rest of his team, Smokey launched another Ember at her, hitting her in the face. She cried out as the fireball exploded, stopping her attack. Joey charged up and let loose a Thunderbolt attack while she was distracted. She shrieked in pain as the electricity coursed through her. Buzz also hit her with a Thundershock right after Joey, but she ended up getting up again.

"How is she still standing?" Joey yelled in shock, his mouth hanging open, "All three of our attacks are super-effective and she doesn't even look she's been affected!"

"OUR ATTACKS ARE NOT POWERFUL ENOUGH," Buzz observed calmly, "WE MIGHT HAVE TO USE THE SAME STRATEGY THAT WE USED AGAINST THE MEDITITE."

"Smokey!" Joey called to his friend, "we all have to attack at the same time!"

The Charmander nodded and brought a fireball to his mouth. Joey summoned the rest of his power from within and concentrated it all in one spot. "NOW!" Buzz ordered and all three teammates launched their attacks simultaneously. The Ember knocked the Skarmory right to the edge of the cliff. For the second time that day, Buzz and Joey's attack merged together into one massive lightning bolt and struck her in the chest before she could recover.

With a horrible cry of pain, she was knocked back into the gorge, her shrieks echoing of the rocky walls. Team Spartan approached the drop off and looked peered over the edge to see the fate of their foe.

Joey breathed a sigh of relief. The metal Pokémon had fallen from sight, the thick fog covering any possible mangled body. He didn't think he could handle another sight like the Meditite from before. The three teammates briefly locked eyes with each other and started to laugh nervously.

"That bird wasn't that hard to beat, am I right?" Joey laughed, although his voice seemed kind of shaky.

"Yeah, almost too easy," Smokey mumbled. Joey raised his equivalent of an eyebrow, as if urging him to explain, "Well, she seemed to be holding back. We were trying to rescue the kid she kidnapped and we did kill her friend. You think she would be really pissed about that and would have put up a much bigger fight, right?"

"OUR LAST ATTACK WAS TOO STRONG FOR HER TO HANDLE ALL AT ONCE," Buzz told them, anger seeping into his robotic voice, "WE DEFEATED HER. THERE IS NO LOGICAL POINT OF DISCUSSING HOW WE ACCOMPLISHED THAT TASK."

Smokey gave a shrug like he didn't really care before suddenly sinking to his knees. The pain in his stomach had sent a fresh jolt of pain, only a lot more intense than the previous ones. A massive amount of pressure was pushing on the walls of his stomach, making his feel as if he would literally explode. Joey was at his side in a moment's notice and helped him up to his feet.

"I knew you weren't alright," he muttered, putting his friend's arm over his shoulder, "this must be bad."

"I'm fine, I swear," Smokey groaned. However, it is an impossible task to try and convince someone that you're okay when you have them supporting your weight.

"No, you're not," Joey said, unconvinced, "we are going to get Linus back to town and once we're there, we're going to get you to a hospital."

Smokey tried to protest but was cut off by a horrible shriek.

"What in the world was that?" Joey asked and leaned over the edge to see where the noise came from. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a large shadow rising from beneath the fog. Joey pushed his friend off his shoulder in an attempt to keep him away from danger. He succeeded in protecting Smokey, but couldn't do the same for himself. The Skarmory crashed into the edge of the cliff, sending the Pikachu flying. Still in mid-air, she turned around and smacked him with her steel wing.

"Stupid runt," she snarled as Joey skidded along the isolated peak where Linus was, "now to take care of your friends."

On that, she dove towards Buzz who tried to protect himself with a Thundershock. The Skarmory dodged the attack and slammed into the smaller Magnemite. Buzz was knocked out and smacked against the rocky ground. He caught between an indent in the stone floor, which prevented him from falling into the abyss.

"Come on, Pikachu," Joey was vaguely aware of a small voice in his ear, "you have to get up. Your team needs you!" Joey opened his eyes and looked up into the worried face of the Diglett, "Your friends are in trouble, they won't last long if you don't help."

Joey struggled to his feet only to collapse again. All his power went into the electric attacks and he could barely stand up. He ended up crawling towards the edge of the pillar to observe the fight.

Smokey was backing away as the Skarmory advanced on him. Her talons clicked loudly against the stone ground and she snapped her beak together repeatedly. At the sight of seeing his friend in trouble, new strength surged through Joey. He mustered all that he could and unleashed it upon the metal bird. The lightning made contact and she cried out in pain.

But it was still too weak to seriously affect her and she whipped up a sharp wind towards the small pillar. The Razor Wind hit the edge under Joey with such force that it caused the ground underneath him to break off and fall into the depths below. The Pikachu barely managed to grab onto the ledge and hold on.

Smokey cried out for his friend and the Skarmory used this distraction for her advantage. She lunged at the Charmander and swiped him ruthlessly with her wing. With the last member of the rescue team out for the count, it looked like Skarmory had won.

Smokey flew through the air and landed on his belly, his head facing away from her. When he made contact with the ground, the pressure in his stomach condensed even further. Unable to contain such force, it released the stress into the intestines. The pressure sped through his digestive track and erupted from his backside in the biggest fart Smokey had ever released.

Before that could even become remotely humiliating, the gas caught the Charmander's tail flame. It combusted and turned the gas into a terrifyingly huge jet of flame. The Skarmory was caught off guard and the fire scored a direct hit to her face. She screeched in pain as the blaze engulfed her. Unable to withstand such agony, she fainted and crumpled to the ground. Smokey rolled over onto his back and took in what he missed.

"There's no way," he mumbled when he saw the Skarmory's still body. He heard a roar of laughter from across the plateau. Looking over to the pillar, he saw Joey and Linus rolling on their small little space.

"That was the most ridiculous and most awesome thing I have ever seen!" he heard Joey yell breathlessly, "there is no way that could have worked!"

"I BELIEVE MY EYE IS MALFUNCTIONING," Smokey turned around and saw that Buzz had recovered slightly and was levitating cautiously, "WHAT I WITNESSED DOES NOT SEEM TO BE POSSIBLE."

"Buzz, you're not hallucinating," Joey shouted from the pillar, still gasping for breath from laughing so hard, "Smokey's ass just learned Flamethrower!"

Buzz, the usually emotionless machine, succumbed and he too started to laugh. Smokey couldn't resist any longer. His confusion dissolved into joy and he joined his friends in hysterical fits of laughter.


	13. Bye Bye, Buzz

Joey watched the awkward Pokémon huddle together. The teammates were separated by a giant drop and since neither Linus nor Joey could jump it, Buzz and Smokey were trying to fly over. The problem with that plan; the Charmander was twice the size of the Magnemite. Smokey tried climbing on top of the smaller Pokémon but that didn't work and he ended up falling off into the dirt.

The Pikachu laughed loudly from the platform, his friends' struggle amusing him. Buzz stuck his magnet arms under Smokey and tried lifting him. Surprisingly, it worked and the two hovered off the ground for a bit. The Magnemite was unable to stay afloat for long though and dropped the heavier Pokémon.

"Why don't you try shooting flames from your ass again?" Joey called down to his teammates, "maybe it will work like a rocket and Smokey can fly up here!"

"This is a lot harder than it looks!" Smokey shouted to his friend in hopes of shutting him up.

"YES, SMOKEY IS QUITE HEAVY. HE SEEMS TO BE PACKING ON THE POUNDS," Buzz commented with an unusual tone in his voice. Joey's laughter turned hysterical at the Magnemite's comment.

"He just called you fat!" Buzz managed through gasps of laughter, "the robot made a joke!"

Smokey glared at Buzz, who just backed away sheepishly. The Charmander shook his head in disgust. Buzz started to say something and Smokey couldn't help but realize his voice was choked with amusement.

"I HAVE A PLAN," he told Smokey, "JUST STAND THERE WITH YOUR ARMS OUTSTRETCHED."

Smokey did as he told and Buzz backed up several meters. Just as he started to wonder what his teammate was doing, the Magnemite rushed him and hooked his magnets under Smokey's shoulders. Using his momentum, Buzz launched them towards the cliff and dropped the Charmander at the edge.

"Oh man, you're heavy," Joey said as he helped his friend up, "you really need to lose some weight, tubs," Smokey swiped at him with a claw but even in his fatigued state, the Pikachu was able to avoid it, "just press the badge and let's get out of here."

He obeyed and pressed the button. In a brilliant flash of light, the four Pokémon vanished from mountain top.

The rescue group tumbled to the ground after appearing from thin air. Smokey picked himself of the ground, rubbing his head. His teammates looked the same. Buzz seemed to be having some trouble with his levitating, as he kept dropping a rising in the air. Linus looked okay, having burrowed into the dirt as soon as they teleported. The Charmander looked around for Joey but he wasn't with them.

"A little help over here?" he heard his friend yell. Smokey looked around and spotted something yellow jutting out of the ground. He went over to check it out and burst out laughing.

The badge had teleported them the crack where they had they had rescued Caterpie. Joey had somehow managed to fall partway into the crevice and was stretched out fully, just barely supporting himself from falling.

"How were you able to pull this off?" Smokey asked his friend, who was starting to sweat.

"Oh, I thought it would be a pleasant exercise to hold myself up like this above a giant drop," Joey said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"You planned to do this?" the Charmander asked. He didn't mean it, he just wanted to screw with his friend and judging by Joey's reaction, Smokey succeeded.

"Of course I didn't plan this, you moron!" Joey snapped and he slid a little farther down the rocks, "just get me up before I fall. I've already done that once and it is something I don't want to repeat."

"I don't know... I'm tempted to leave right now and have climb up by yourself. You could really use some more upper body strength."

"Smokey, if I fall, I swear you will not live to see tomorrow," Joey growled through gritted teeth. Smokey chuckled and he had had enough.

"Buzz, Joey needs help again!" he called to the Magnemite.

"What do you mean, 'again'?" Joey shouted as Buzz lifted him from the crack. The Pikachu hung on like his life depended on it as they slowly rose. As soon as they cleared the drop, Joey jumped onto solid land and retreated as far away from the crack. He heard his friend laughing at him and glared at the Charmander.

"I WOULD NOT BE LAUGHING, HE IS LIGHTER THAN YOU, TUBS," Buzz remarked snidely as he passed Smokey. The Charmander's shoulders slumped and his joyful expression switched a frown. He tried to smack the Magnemite but was too slow. Soon, all three teammates were in a small scrap.

"Excuse me, but I really want to get home now," Linus said before the three teammates started an all out brawl between them, "that is your job, right?"

Smokey stared at the little Diglett, having forgotten that he was there. He dropped Joey from a headlock and walked over to Linus, "we'll go to our base and see if your parents are still there."

"The shack is our base now?" Joey mumbled as he stood up, "When did that happen?"

"It happened as soon as we became a team," Smokey replied, "now come on, we don't have all day."

They made their way through Tiny Woods to the wooden structure that was their home. Sure enough, Linus' parents were waiting there and with a rumble, they popped up in front of him.

"Mom! Dad! Uncle!" Linus cried and rushed up to the Dugtrio, who encircled him in a sort of embrace. Joey went to stand beside Smokey.

"Uncle?" he whispered, raising a confused eyebrow.

"Don't think about it," Smokey told his friend, "I don't know the how Dugtrio make kids and I don't think I want to know. To me, that can remain a mystery just like the fact if Diglett have legs."

Joey opened his mouth to ask another question but shut it quickly. It was a stupid thought but he was curious to know how no one had seen the bottom of a Diglett. His thoughts were interrupted when the Dugtrio dug its way to where they were standing.

"Thank you so much," they said, "here's the reward as promised. It's a small price to pay for having our son back unharmed."

They handed the team a small envelop before borrowing underground, reunited with their son. Joey wasn't gawking at the payment like Smokey was but instead staring at the house.

"Smokey... something seems different," Joey stated, trying to piece together what was off. Smokey looked up and grinned.

"I got a few upgrades while I was in town," he said and pointed to the new mailbox standing by the bumpy road.

"That's awesome," Joey exclaimed, "now Pokémon can put their offers in there other than bursting out of the ground and tossing me across the room."

"Speaking of which, there's something else in the house for you too."

The Pikachu's face lit up and he ran to the house. Before Smokey and Buzz could join him, they heard him shout in joy.

"You got me a bed!" he squealed in high pitch voice. Noticing this, he lowered his voice to less embarrassing levels, "Why'd you get it for me?'

"Your bed got destroyed by Dugtrio," Smokey explained, "even if it wasn't, you were still sleeping on a pile of rot."

Joey nodded in agreement at the same time Buzz spoke.

"I... I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING," he began. They both turned to him, surprised that he had faltered when speaking, something he never does. His one eye was warped in a way that made him look nervous.

"What's wrong, Buzz?" Joey asked his friend.

"I WANT TO LEAVE THE RESCUE TEAM," his voice was filled with sadness and both of the other Pokémon recoiled slightly in surprise.

"WHAT? Why?" Smokey asked.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE..." he said simply, "WE HAVE COME CLOSE MANY TIMES AND I DO NOT THINK THAT I AM PREPARED TO HAVE MY LIFE CUT SO SHORT."

"Did you think this was going to be easy?" Smokey demanded from the Magnemite, dark smoke starting to billow from his nose, "We started this team because we wanted to help others. Dying is risk we'll have to take when it comes to rescuing people who need help."

"I KNOW THAT BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, I DO NOT WANT DIE EARLY. THE THOUGHT OF DEATH FRIGHTENS ME GREATLY," Buzz said, sadness taking over his calm voice. Smokey opened his mouth to try and change his mind but Joey stopped him.

"I understand, Buzz," he said, appearing by Smokey's side. The Charmander looked at his friend in disbelief but Joey continued, "He's scared of death, Smokey. It's a reasonable response to what has happened. We've nearly died so many times and we've only had, like, three missions. It's safe to say that we're going to face a lot more dangerous missions. Buzz just wants out before we get a really dangerous one that could kill us all."

Smokey stood there, his anger ebbing away slowly under Joey's reasoning. Joey was normally a hothead, easily angered by the smallest things. The fact that he was siding with Buzz, when he doing something that was selfish, surprised Smokey a lot.

On the other hand, Joey knew exactly how Buzz felt. The amount of fear he experienced in his last minutes of life outweighed everything from before. Knowing that you're going to die isn't comforting at all, even with your friends there. If anything, that makes it worse. No one should have to go through that if they had the choice.

"Smokey, just let him go," Joey said, trying to convince his friend, "you still got me on the team. I'm not going anywhere."

The Charmander's anger disappeared and he nodded slightly. Buzz took that as he was okay with him leaving a sighed.

"THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING," he said gratefully, "I WILL SEE YOU AROUND SOMETIME."

The Magnemite exited their house and Smokey couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. Buzz had promised to help them and he had left after their first mission together. When being faced with death, most seem to avoid that option as best as possible.

"What are we going to do now?" Joey asked, hoping to cheer his friend up.

"We're going into town," Smokey stated and headed for the door. Joey rushed to catch up with him.

"Why?"

"To find another a job."

"Another? What is with you and doing jobs?"

* * *

"So if I come across a water-ground type, what should I do?"

"You should run like you life depended on it, because it would."

"But why? Electric attacks are effective against water but not effective against ground. So shouldn't the two cancel out and make it just normally effective?"

"It doesn't work that way. When it comes to defense, it takes attributes from both types for defense. So while electricity is strong against water, it has no effect on ground, so that Pokémon would have a full resistance against electric. However, since both of those types are weak to grass, grass would have a dual advantage over that Pokémon."

"That means that I have a dual advantage over a water-flying type, since they're both weak against electricity. That also explains why you beat Manac so easily, because steel and bug are weak against fire."

"Exactly."

The trip to town took a while, so to pass the time, Smokey was quizzing Joey on type advantages. He seemed to be a quick learner and was able to understand most of what Smokey was saying. However, judging by Joey's record, he would forget most of the stuff he learned by the next day. They entered the town and was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Back from Mt. Steel already, I see," Leaky said as he came to greet them, "how did it go?"

"Well I fought a Zigzagoon, wrestled with Smokey, impaled a Meditite, we defeated Skarmory and saved Linus," Joey said, ticking off each event on his fingers. Then, as an afterthought, "plus Buzz left the team and Smokey shot flames out of his ass."

"Come again?" Leaky asked, thoroughly confused by what he just said. Smokey explained to him the day's events and the Lombre grew more impressed and humoured, "Now that's funny," he commented once Smokey was done.

"Yeah, I think it needs a name," Joey suggested, "how about 'The Rocket' or 'Combustible Colon'?"

"I don't think we need a name for a onetime thing," Smokey said, his face blushing a deep red.

"Lighten up a bit. We got to think of the name for the attack that single-handedly saved our lives. Give it the respect that it deserves."

"If you really want to, we can call it The Rocket," Smokey told them, resigning to just go with it other than try to argue. His friends cheered loudly, "We came here for a reason. You remember why, Joey?"

"Right... another job," Joey sighed and his face fell, "look, why can't we wait for some later day. I'm really freaking tired from saving that Diglett."

"Yeah, Smokey, you need to take breaks in between missions," Leaky added, "even the best have to recharge."

"I wasn't planning on doing another today," Smokey told them, faint lines of smoke coming from his nose, "I just wanted to get one today so we would be guaranteed a job for tomorrow."

"Let's just take a break for one day," Joey suggested, "you know, have one day of not running into situations that nearly get us killed."

"Don't worry, I'll get us an easy job. You can stay here if you're too tired to go to the post office," Smokey started to head west to the board, before turning around, "you coming?" he asked and both Pokémon shook their heads, "alright, I'll go by myself." Soon, he was lost in the crowd of Pokémon in the square.

Joey stared at the Lombre with tired eyes, "Why do I have the strangest feeling that this next job is going to suck?"


	14. The Fetch Mission

The normal eerie silence of the woods was broken by a series of snaps and curses. A Hoothoot burst from the thick overhang of leaves, chirping in disdain.

"I thought you said this would be easy," Joey complained, tugging his tail out of the undergrowth, "it's been a lot of things so far, but I don't think that easy could be used to describe it."

"Quit your whining," Smokey said from up ahead, "I said that there wouldn't be much fighting. We're not rescuing anyone, we're just doing a fetch mission."

"Why are we doing a fetch mission if we're a rescue team?" Joey inquired, scrambling to catch up to his friend, "shouldn't we be saving Pokémon, not finding stuff their too lazy to look for?"

"You said you wanted to take a break from rescuing, so I got us this."

"Yeah... I meant taking a break in general. You know, like, not doing work of any kind."

"Joey, just shut up, okay? Your complaining is attracting unwanted attention."

"Oh right... what's a Scyther again?"Joey asked and Smokey rolled his eyes. He had explained to his friend the dangers but whatever he said just seemed to enter one ear and exit through the other.

"It's a big, green bug and looks like a mantis," Smokey explained, recalling what Leaky had told them before, "they move swiftly and silently and are extremely deadly. Oh, and instead of arms, they have giant blades."

"How tall are they?"

"A little more than three times your height."

"Okay, you're definitely screwing with me. You're trying to convince me that these Pokémon are like ninjas who are three times my size and have blades for arms. That description sounds really cheesy."

"I'm just repeating what Leaky said," Smokey said in his defence, climbing over a fallen tree, "you can choose to believe it but I'm going to trust the guy who knows everything about this island."

Joey jumped onto the top with ease, trying to not lose sight of the Charmander. He didn't answer his friend and instead focus on not falling on his face from the tangles of plant on the floor. After trekking through this forest for an hour, he truly understood why they called this place Sinister Woods. The place was constantly shrouded in shadows, making everything seem more ominous. The slightest crack of a branch always made them freeze, fearing it to be some horrible creature. Joey thought that with the amount of noise they were making, they didn't have to worry about finding trouble. Trouble would most certainly find them.

He stopped in his tracks, sensing something was wrong. It took him only a couple of seconds to realize what it was. Smokey was nowhere to be seen. The lack of his tail flame was all too obvious and Joey started to panic. What if a Scyther had got him? What if Smokey left him to die? His mind was reeling until a familiar voice broke through.

"Joey, come over here," the Charmander hissed, jolting his friend back into reality, "you might want to come see this, but I have to warn you, it is disturbing."

Joey followed his teammate into a patch of thick bushes. Smokey was standing in a small patch of cleared grass, his flame burning bright to illuminate the dark space. He indicated to a brown lump in the dirt. Joey checked it out and recoiled at the sight.

It was a Pokémon, there was no doubt about it. It resembled a squirrel only it was rounder than and its tail was fluffier. The Pokémon's fur was covered in blood from the many gashes it had along its body. The stench emitting from it was terrible.

"This isn't right," Joey said, his terror returning, "We should get out of here. Whatever did this might come back and if it finds us-"

"Joey, this isn't a fresh kill," Smokey explained to his panicking friend, "that smell coming from her body means that she has been dead for a while."

"How do you know that it's a girl?"

"I just do," Smokey sighed and joined the Pikachu, "you were right before. This is just wrong, we should leave her in peace."

Smokey led them out of the resting place. He hated seeing dead Pokémon in the wilderness, just left there to rot. His brain created fake images of his own body discarded in a similar fashion. He wished he could have given her a proper burial but it would have taken too much time.

They didn't talk until they reached a small clearing. A patch of grass lay in the middle of a ring of trees. Sunlight shone through the opening in the branches, stinging Smokey's eyes after the dim light in the forest. He walked into the centre of the small clearing and gazed at the trees.

Something seemed off about the plants. He didn't know why, but he was bothered by the way all they were all formed. The parts facing the grass were completely devoid of any leaves and broad branches stretched from both sides of every tree. It gave them a look like they were in an arena and the trees were where the spectators watched. A sharp yelp broke his train of thought.

"Smokey, you said that Scyther were swift, silent and deadly, right?" Joey asked in a pained voice. Smokey reasoned that the yelp had been him managing to step on the one sharp thing hidden in the grass.

"Yeah, they're supposed to be one of the most dangerous Pokémon out there," he said, but the note of fear in Joey's voice prompted him to continue, "Why...?"

"Well, you got swift and silent right," Joey said, his voice filled with more pain and fear, "now I just hope that they aren't as deadly as you said they were."

His last words were barely a gasp and Smokey couldn't miss the obvious terror in his friend's voice. He spun around to come face to face with his worst possible fear.

Joey was desperately trying to keep a giant blade away from his neck, using one hand to push it away. The blade was actually just one arm of the Scyther that had him pinned against its chest. The other was pressed flat against most of Joey's body, restricting his other arm. Anger flared in Smokey and dark smoke started to pour from his nostrils. He had a type advantage against it, he could win.

"You better let my friend go or it's about to get really hot for you," Smokey said, trying his best to sound intimidating. Clearly he failed, and the Scyther smirked and pressed the blade closer to Joey's neck.

"Dammit, Smokey," Joey groaned in frustration, "stop trying to act badass, you're just making this worse for me. Focus on getting us out of this mess."

The look of confusion on Smokey's face made the bug Pokémon's smirk wider. The Charmander understood what Joey was trying to say too late. He looked around and saw that the branches of the trees were filled with more Scyther, watching them intently. No wonder it looked like an arena. That's exactly what it was.

And they were the show.

Joey gasped in pain and Smokey turned back. His friend had lost and now the Scyther's blade was digging into Joey's neck. It pressed into the Pikachu's skin but not hard enough to draw blood. Smokey advanced on the Pokémon.

"Not so fast, Smokey," he warned as the fire type approached, "you try any funny business and," he ran the blade lightly across Joey's neck, "your partner gets a new hole to breathe out of."

"What do you want," Smokey said. It wasn't a question, more of a demand. He managed to keep his voice level but the Scyther still chuckled.

"That's not for me to decide," he said. Smokey was about to ask what he meant when Joey cried out.

"Smokey, watch out behin- ACK!" the edge was forced down harder against his windpipe, cutting off the rest of the sentence. Smokey had caught just enough of it and whipped around to confront what was behind him.

Another Scyther stood barely a metre away from him. Smokey assumed that it was the leader because of how battle hardened it looked. Its eyes were cold and devoid of any emotion. The Charmander's claws came out in an instant, preparing for a fight.

"It's good to see that you're a fighter," he said, getting into his battle stance, "maybe you might prove to be more of a challenge than the others in the forest."

Smokey swore and realized his mistake too late, once again. Never draw your weapon first. To an experienced warrior, that issues as a challenge. He slung off the toolbox from his back but kept the green scarf around his neck.

"That's not fair, Smokey's shit at fighting!" Joey protested, briefly freeing himself from his aggressor's grip. It amazed Smokey that even when faced with death, Joey still kept his amazingly short temper.

"Say another word child, and Tabak will follow through on his threat," the leader warned but Joey had had enough. He hated being pushed around by those that were bigger than he was. Yanking his arms free in a sudden burst of strength, he pushed the blade away from his neck.

"Smokey, DUCK!" he cried. Sparks started to fly from his cheeks as he powered up. The Charmander knew what his friend was going to do and immediately hit the ground.

Joey released his most powerful strike ever in the form of a massive Thunder attack. His assailant was thrown backward and dropped the Pikachu to the grass. All the Scyther, including the ones watching from the trees, were struck by the electricity and knocked backwards. This gave him enough time to reunite with Smokey, who was clutching onto the grass.

"Thanks for the heads up," Smokey said with a grin, "that was by far the most powerful attack you've done."

"You're right," Joey muttered, out of breath, "that drained me of all my power. I don't think I'll be able to do another one," he took several deep breaths to slow his breathing before continuing, "How did you managed to avoid it?"

"I grounded myself," Smokey held up his claws so that Joey could see that they were covered with dirt, "it still hurt a lot though. I can't imagine how the Scyther are feeling."

"You're not actually worried for them, are you?" Joey asked in disbelief, "they threatened to slice my throat. I don't know about you but I prefer my head attached to my body. Come on, let's just get the hell out of here before they get up."

"Yeah... that's not going to happen..." Smokey said after Joey turned away. The frustrated Pikachu began to face the opposite way but he already knew what to expect. The Scyther at the edge of the forest had already recovered and were forming a semicircle around the duo.

"Oh, we are _so_ screwed," Joey mumbled as the leader got up last. He glared at them, the coldness of his eyes replaced with fury.

"You'll pay for attacking us," a female said and lunged at them, only to be stopped by the leader himself.

"Talia, not yet," he told her, pushing her back gently with the flat of his arm, "their deaths shouldn't be quick for their actions."

"Don't give us that crap," Joey snapped, "it's called self-defence. We've seen what you do to other Pokémon in the forest. You mutilate them and leave the bodies to rot. I sure as hell wasn't prepared to end up like that."

"Foolish Pikachu," Tabak growled, "we don't kill others for sport. We spar for training and only kill when we must protect our territory."

"So holding a blade to a stranger's neck and threatening to slit their throat is your version of a warm welcome?" Joey spat out, applying a generous amount of sarcasm to his words, "That's definitely not going to make them fight for their lives."

"The best of training comes under real life experiences, you insolent worm," the leader growled, "I can see that you're not familiar with any form of training from your clear lack of discipline or respect."

"I got my respect for you right here!" Joey stuck his middle finger up at the leader but his only reaction was a deep scowl. The rest of his group didn't seem to have the same level as control as him and one charged Joey with amazing speed. Smokey fired and Ember and the fireball struck the bug, enveloping it in flames. It howled in pain and retreated to the edge as the flames subsided.

"Joey, I swear to Mew, you're going to get us killed one of these days," Smokey mumbled and his friend gave a quick bark of harsh laughter.

"We're already dead," he responded, "I'm just making sure we go out with style."

"I don't plan on dying," Smokey pointed to the badge that he wore on his scarf, "we can still get out of here alive."

One of Scyther also noticed the badge and pointed it out to her leader.

"I know that they are a rescue team, Stilleta," he grumbled, "but even rescue teams can be corrupt. What I said before still stands, though. This will be a good fight, only now it's to the death."

"We don't want to fight," Smokey said. His frustration started to rise and the dark smoke returned, "Just let us go and no one gets hurt."

"We can't allow that after you struck first. You have to finish the battle."

"Then we'll fry you," Joey warned them, electricity cackling at his cheeks. Even the leader took a wary step back, afraid of his last Thunder attack. He took that for granted because there was no way he could muster up anything more than the sparks, "press the button, Smokey," he added in undertone."

Smokey was about to press it when a cry came from deep in the woods. Whoever it was, they were yelling for help. The Charmander stopped halfway between pushing the bottom and let his arm fall. Joey kept his guard up but was visibly distressed by his friend's reaction.

"I know that voice," Smokey mumbled, "I know him!" he yelled and ran off into the forest before Joey knew what was happening. He watched his friend disappear into the foliage before returning his attention to the Scyther. They used this distraction to form a tighter semicircle around him, giving the Pikachu only a dozen feet to work with.

"Stand back or I'll fry you," he bluffed, sending sparks back to his cheeks, "come any closer and you'll all be one big pile of ash."

The one called Talia stepped forward slightly, testing Joey. He pumped up the energy, making the amount of sparks increase.

"Don't you dare get any closer," he said, trying to sound intimidating, "one more step and you're history."

A trace of a smile came to her lips. Slowly, she raised her foot and beads of sweat started to form on Joey's forehead. She called his bluff and planted her foot down again. Joey's eyes rapidly flicked from her feet to her face.

"He can't use another attack," she said in a low voice, a smirk widening along her face. The other Scyther grew restless as they waited for their leader's instructions

"Kill him," the leader ordered. Joey didn't wait for him to speak. By the time the directions were given, he was already running as fast as he could through the underbrush. He couldn't hear the Scyther giving chase but he wasn't able to decide if that was good or bad. Smokey was his ticket out of here. He just had to find him before those silent killers got either of them.

Joey's breath was becoming ragged, each breath making his chest feel like it was tearing open. He had been sprinting at top speed through the thick undergrowth and now that the adrenalin was starting to wear off, he was feeling the effects of fatigue. The plants cleared for a bit and he stopped to catch his breath.

Why did Smokey run off? '_I know that voice_...' he had said. He probably followed the sound, trying to find whoever it was who needed help but Joey had no idea where to find him. His ears were more sensitive to sound now than when he was a human but he hadn't gotten used to using them yet. Now was as good of a time as ever to test them and he shut his eyes, straining his hearing to the limit.

He noticed two things. A faint echo was coming from directly ahead of him. Only Smokey could be making that much noise. The other was a sharp crack, barely capable of being heard. Unlike the echo, this was directly behind him. He knew what it was and instincts took over.

His legs turned on the jets and he was sprinting once again through the foliage, trying to outrun the Scyther that were surely following him. Thank whatever god had been nice enough in making him a Pikachu. They might be small but they could run extremely fast for a long time, even in a tired state.

He heard the yell again, only louder and more distinct. It was definitely Smokey. Joey could recognize his friend's voice in a second. He quickened his pace and heard loud rustling above him. Daring a quick glance over his shoulder, he felt his heart stop beating. Blurs of green could just be seen flashing across the dense leaves. He had to make it to Smokey before they did. The Charmander might be able to hold them off but definitely not for long.

"Daya, don't worry, I'll get you out of there," Smokey's voice rang out to Joey, making his legs pump faster. His friend was just beyond the bushes, he had to make it. He crashed through the plants and briefly took in his surroundings.

They were in another clearing, larger than the arena but a lot more uneven. A massive fissure ran along its middle, splitting the clearing into two sides. Smokey stood at the very edge of the crack, talking to someone at the bottom. Joey didn't care about that. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could make out the shapes of Scyther perched in the trees, waiting to strike.

"Smokey, watch out!" Joey called out, sacrificing the little amount of breath he had left to spare. His warning made the bug-types to spring into action. As one, they jumped from their branches and circled Smokey. The Charmander looked around in terror at the fact that he was trapped. Luckily, their blockade was large enough that Joey was inside as well, giving him sufficient time to think of a plan. It was horribly dangerous but it might just work.

Smokey stared at Joey, having no idea what his friend was going to do. Joey didn't stop running, even when he felt a violent tremor pass through his body. He thought his body was starting to shut down, sending vibrations throughout him as he tried to supply enough energy to his limbs.

Then he realized that it was the whole ground that was moving. Everyone felt it, even some of the Scyther, who tried to remain calm, momentarily lost their balance. Joey didn't focus on what was happening around him. Instead, he concentrated on running and when he got close enough to Smokey, he tackled his friend.

Yes, he was fully aware of the giant fissure that Smokey was standing next to. That was his plan. It was really stupid but it was all he could think of that would give them an adequate amount time to think of a proper plan. He believed the Scyther wouldn't follow them into the hole.

One thing Joey didn't account for was how far the fissure extended downwards and also how narrow it was. They smashed into the jagged sides as they fell. He hit the ground hard, only to have Smokey land on top of him and roll off. Joey groaned as he got to his feet and took notice of a fist sized rock land next to him.

An unsettling cracking sound was getting louder. He looked up at the opening and swore loudly. Cracks were opening up along the fissure walls. The earthquake was tearing giant chunks loose. A boulder broke off at the top and started to plummet towards the ground. Paralyzed by fear and fatigue, Joey could only watch as the boulder hurtled towards him, about to stain the ground with his tiny body.


	15. Too Easy

Smokey reacted quickly. After recovering from the fall, he dragged Joey to a small alcove a moment before a chunk of rock pulverized the spot where he had been standing. The rumbling of the earth continued and more and more pieces of stone fell until all sunlight was blocked out at the bottom of the crevice.

"Why the hell would you do that?" Smokey hissed angrily once the shaking stopped, "you could've gotten us killed!"

"How is this _my_ fault?" Joey demanded, "You ran off and left me alone with the Scyther! I could have died! What were you thinking?"

"I heard someone I know calling for help," Smokey said, his anger somewhat diminishing, "I ran off to see would I could do. I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry."

"Well, at least we aren't trapped," Joey sighed, "we can still get out of here using the rescue badge."

"So, you guys are going to get me out after all," a voice asked from behind them. Joey spun around in surprise to this new person but Smokey remained calm. He flared his tail flame a little brighter to reveal the speaker.

All Joey saw was a small tree buried under a pile of rubble and a long corridor extending behind it. He had no idea who was speaking until the tree shifted its weight. In the dim light, he saw a faint glimmer coming from the upper part of the tree. That's when Joey noticed that it had two beady, black eyes.

"How did you manage to get yourself into this, Daya?" Smokey asked the tree. It laughed and Joey figured that the Pokémon was a girl.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she said with a wide grin, "why are you wandering around in Sinister Woods? And who is your new friend?"

"That's Joey, my partner," Smokey explained and Daya cocked her head slightly. Smokey pointed to the badge on his scarf and her face lit up.

"Since when did you become a rescue team?" she asked in astonishment. The Charmander recounted all their adventures to her. She looked impressed by the time she was finished, "that's... awesome, but could you remove some of this stuff, please? I'm starting to lose feeling in my legs."

"Oh, right," Smokey muttered and began to clear the debris off his friend. Joey, who had not said anything yet, also came over to help, "you never told me how you got trapped."

"An earthquake came along and caught me off guard, causing me to get buried under this pile of rubbish," Daya started to explain while they worked, "it was a lot smaller than the last one, so you probably didn't feel it above."

"Why were you down here in the first place?" Smokey asked, while tossing away multiple small rocks.

"It's safer to travel underground," she said, as if that explained everything. Smokey prompted her on with a raised eyebrow and she continued, "Sinister Woods is dangerous. Not only do some gangs of Scyther pose a threat, the terrain of the forest hides many dangers. I know the tunnels well, so I use them to get around to avoid going above ground."

"Good thing you're a rock type," Smokey grunted as he lifted a large rock, "if it was me caught under this, I probably would have died."

"Daya's a rock type?" Joey suddenly asked, "But she's a tree. Wouldn't she be a grass type?"

Smokey received a look from Daya asking if Joey was being serious.

"He's not from around these parts," Smokey offered and Daya shrugged. He turned to Joey, "Daya's a Sudowoodo. Their bodies are made from petrified wood, which gives them the appearance of looking like trees."

"I may look like a tree, but I'm hard as rock," Daya confirmed. Joey rolled his eyes in amusement. After seeing all these strange creatures, you think he would be a little less surprised by now when he saw a new one. However, that's the opposite. Today alone he fought ninjas with blades instead of arms and met talking trees. He was sure that there were other fascinating Pokémon that he had yet to see.

After half an hour of labour, they cleared enough of the rock for Daya to stand. She stretched out her whole body and moaned in relief. The Sudowoodo was twice the size of them with stubby legs. Joey started to pick out dull yellow spots covering her body and he couldn't believe that she wasn't a tree. She started to walk away from the cave-in and down the corridor, looking back to see if they were following her. Joey started dumbly for a moment before he ran to catch up to her.

"I haven't seen you in ages," Smokey said, "I can barely remember when we last hung out. Was it when we found the mattress?"

"Yeah, that was a while ago," Daya laughed a bit, "you still living in that crap-shack by Tiny Woods?"

"Hey, don't make fun of my house. We spent a lot of time trying to make that place livable, remember?"

"How long have you guys known each other?" Joey asked, trying to get in on the conversation, "sounds like you've been friends for a long time."

"Uh... wow," Smokey mumbled, trying to think back, "it's been nearly four years since I saved you from those Wurmple. Now that we've dug you up, I think you owe me two favours."

"I didn't ask for your help this time, you kinda just found me," Daya protested angrily. Her tone took on a note of confusion, "how did you find me anyways? You rescued me, like, twenty minutes after the passage caved in."

"Oh, you know, just... wandering by," it was obvious that Smokey was trying to avoid that subject, as he hesitated before blatantly lying. Just talking about it sparked annoyance in Joey. He was still mad that Smokey had abandoned him. Daya noticed Smokey's hesitation also and looked to the Pikachu for the truth.

"We were trying to find someone's lost package," Joey told her, "idiot dropped it in the middle in the forest and was too scared to go find it. We ran into a gang of Scyther before Smokey heard you shouting. We searched and we found you, only to fall into the fissure because of the earthquake."

The Sudowoodo believed the story and continued guiding them through the passage. Smokey looked back at Joey, searching for an explanation of why he lied. Joey shrugged like he didn't know why and the Charmander rolled his eyes and continued his talk with his old friend.

He actually didn't really know why he didn't tell Daya that Smokey had just run off. Maybe Joey thought that if she knew the truth of Smokey's actions she might think differently of him.

"So, you said this package was in the middle of the forest?" Daya inquired, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it's around the middle, along the northern part of the river," Smokey answered, staring at his friend curiously, "Why?"

"Well, I know these caves pretty well," she began, a bit suggestively, "maybe I can lead you to an exit to where you need to go. And when I'm done that, I can show you where your package is. Will that make us even?"

Smokey grinned widely. Daya was good at finding ways out of paying him back. When they found his mattress, she just helped him carry it back even when he could have done it by himself. Many other times, she helped him look for food.

"It's a deal," Smokey said and shook her weird green bunches, "for once you're actually doing something useful."

"What do you mean, 'for once'?" Daya demanded, resulting in Smokey laughing.

"You managed to compensate me saving your life by planting an Oran berry bush near my house."

"Those things are very useful. They could save your life one day."

The two shared a hearty laugh and Joey couldn't help but feel left out.

* * *

"Oh, yes, sunlight!" Joey ran ahead of his friends and basked in the sun's warm glow, "ugh, I hate being underground and in caves."

"It seems that every mission we've done involves going through them," Smokey stated, squinting to get used to the light, "so how far do you think we are?"

"Really close," Daya answered and pointed directly ahead, "just five minutes in that direction and we should be close to where your client said they dropped it."

The trio started walking in that direction. The air was fresher in this part of the woods and the soft gurgling of the small river was soothing to the tired Pokémon. Luckily for Smokey, a tree had fallen across the river, making a convenient bridge for them to cross.

"He said that he dropped it in a clearing, right?" Joey asked. Smokey nodded and he asked another question, "If he dropped it in an open patch, why didn't he just go back for the thing instead of running off?"

"Maybe something spooked him," Smokey suggested, "he didn't really seem so brave if you ask me."

"I think I know which clearing you're talking about," Daya whispered, "come on, it's this way."

They made their way through the thick undergrowth, trying to keep up with the Sudowoodo's fast pace. The brambles kept tripping Joey and he started to fall behind. Noticing this, he broke into a run, not wanting to be left behind. In his haste, he nearly ran into them when they stopped.

"Is this it?" Smokey asked. Daya nodded slightly, gazing into the clearing. Joey took a peek too. It looked like an ordinary space, just a patch of uneven grass that hadn't been taken over by the wildlife. In its centre lay a red parcel, seemingly undamaged. That was their package and Joey rushed out to get it.

"Joey, what are you doing?" Smokey hissed from the bushes.

"I'm getting the package so we can leave," Joey told him, "what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"It could be a trap!" Smokey explained, "It's too easy, someone must've set it up. It could be the Scyther."

"We got rid of the Scyther when we fell. There's no way they could've tracked us when we were underground. Plus, how could they know that we came for this?"

"He's right, Smokey," Daya said, joining the Pikachu, "Scyther territory doesn't extend this far out. It should be safe."

Smokey still looked uneasy but left the safety of the bushes to join his friends. Joey smiled reassuringly, hoping to convince his friend that everything was okay. Smokey seemed to relax and they went over to retrieve the package. It was small and spherical, wrapped in red fabric. Joey wondered what it was and bent down to pick it up at the same time as Smokey.

Joey's fur spiked out. Something was wrong. This situation was just wrong. He heard something swipe through the air above him, barely missing his head. The sound was followed by a short, dull 'thunk' before the air was silent again. The Pikachu stood up and locked a fearful pair eyes with Smokey. As one, they looked over at Daya.

The Sudowoodo's face was frozen in shock. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open a fraction. They watched in horror as the top half of her body fell to the ground. It would not have been that big of a deal if her bottom half followed.

Smokey couldn't comprehend what was happening. The friend he had for the longest time was in two separate pieces, with her legs planted in the ground. His eyes started to fill with tears as he slowly began to realize what happened. He sank to his knees and held the top part of Daya, praying that this was just a dream.

"Aw... I missed the triple kill," a childish voice punctured the horrified group. Joey's head snapped to the left to face the talker. A Scyther stood with her arms crossed pouting in a mocking way.

How could he be so stupid? Of course the Scyther would follow them. Why he thought that their luck would get any better, Joey had no idea. All he knew was that his stupid decision cost a friend her life.

"You're the murderer," Joey accused angrily, "I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"Of course I am," Talia said, acting like Joey's accusation was a compliment, "do you see anyone else who could've killed your pathetic friend?"

"You killed her?" Smokey croaked, "You killed Daya?" Talia nodded slyly and Smokey's tail exploded into flame, "You murdered my friend!" he roared, thick black smoke gushing from his nose, "I'll kill you, you bitch!"

"She didn't just kill Daya," Joey said, his own anger building, "she's been the one killing defenceless Pokémon in the woods. The Sentret we saw that was mauled, that was her work. Who knows how many others she's killed."

"Those feeble creatures were hardly a challenge," Talia mocked, "neither was your pitiful friend. Maybe you'll put up a better fight."

Smokey responded with a massive fireball. Talia dodged it with ease and it flew into the tree line, exploding in flames. The Scyther reappeared behind them and Smokey launched another one, only for it to be avoided again.

The two repeated this routine over and over. Smokey would fire an Ember, Talia would dodge it and the fireball would catch a new section of the forest on fire. Joey was starting to notice something within this trend.

Every time Talia would reappear, she would be slightly closer to them. Eventually she would get close enough to strike them both down. Why was she taking her time than?

_She's toying with us_, a voice answered in the back of Joey's mind, _she can end this whenever she wants_. Smokey seemed to be fueled by pure rage. Each fireball seemed to be bigger than the last. No matter how big they got though, the Scyther effortlessly evaded it. Joey had to get them out of there or else they would be sliced in half, too.

A gleam of light from Smokey's neck caught Joey's eye. The rescue badge. That could get them out of there. Only it was attached to Smokey's scarf, and he was too busy in a vengeful bloodlust to worry about escaping now. Joey knew that he was going to have to do something that might risk their friendship in order to save them both. He picked up the red package. They had sacrificed too much for this mission to let it go incomplete.

Smokey fired another Ember at Talia, who was no more than a couple metres away. As she disappeared, Joey made his move. He lunged, not at the Scyther but at the Charmander. His friend only noticed him when the Pikachu slammed into him, knocking him down. Joey brought his fist down on the badge, striking the button.

Talia saw a cocoon of light envelop her prey. She couldn't stand to let them get away and she attacked. Her blade passed through the light without coming into contact with anything. When it disappeared, she was left alone in the middle of the clearing. It didn't bother her all that much though. If she was patient, she would eventually kill them.


	16. Dirty Payment

Before they even hit the ground outside of the shack, Joey felt a horrible burning feeling. They hit the ground and he realized that his face was burning. For some reason, it wasn't as hot as he expected but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. He dug his head into the dirt, hoping to suffocate the flames. It worked and Joey breathed a sigh of relief. He felt the tender skin, trying to feel if there was any major damage. He'd live through it but Smokey was in a terrible rage.

"Where is she?" he demanded, spitting a few embers as he yelled, "Where did that murderer go?"

"Smokey, we're back home," Joey explained calmly, trying to sooth his friend, "she isn't here. I got us away from her to safety."

"You did WHAT?" he yelled, looking even angrier than before. Joey tried a different approach.

"Dude, you were in a blind rage," he said forcefully, "I had to press the button on the badge to get us away from there or she was going to kill us."

"She wasn't going to kill us!" he roared, "I wasn't going to kill her! I was going to make her pay."

"The Scyther was toying with us, man, we weren't going to beat her."

"She killed Daya, she has to die. I'm going to tear her apart and make her pay for what she has done. I'm going to make her feel mo- '_SMACK_!'." Joey got fed up with Smokey's rambling. He had walked up to him and smacked him across the face, nearly knocking his friend over.

"Enough of this shit, Smokey," he ordered. His anger was rising, not because of what had happened but because of how Smokey was acting, "I realize that you and Daya were really good friends but getting yourself killed in a blind rage isn't doing her any justice."

"She chopped Daya in half!" Smokey cried, his voice choking a bit, "she murdered her, Joey. She killed my friend," his anger seemed to disappear all at once and was replaced by deep sadness. He couldn't hold it in anymore and he started to sob. The Charmander fell onto his side and curled in a ball, sobbing loudly.

"Sh-she was my best f-friend and n-now she's d-d-dead!" he wailed, "I'll n-never get t-to see her again."

Joey felt pity for his friend right away. He knew what his friend was going though all too well, "it's going be alright, Smokey," he said, "it wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could do. Neither of us saw it coming."

"No, Joey, you don't understand," he choked out and looked up at his friend. His eyes had red rims around them, "it was my fault. I choose that job for my own needs, and Daya's dead. We almost died."

"Your own selfish needs?" Joey asked, but not in a rude way, "you just wanted to help somebody, that's not selfish. As a matter of fact, it's the exact opposite."

"I didn't take that job to help," his voice was barely a whisper, "I took it for the money."

His words slowly sunk in and took effect on Joey. The Pikachu's emotions were thrown into turmoil. Part of him wanted to be angry and yell at his friend, the other felt pity. All Joey could manage was, "Why?"

"Come on, Joey, you know why," Smokey sniffed and sat up, "you've seen the conditions I live in. I have no source of money, I scavenge for food. When I asked you to make a rescue team, helping others who were affected by the earthquakes wasn't my main intention. It was getting money for once."

"Dude, money isn't everything," Joey said in a low voice.

"I know it isn't!" Smokey yelled, anger creeping into his tone, "but I've lived like this for four years. Since my dad left to join a rescue team, I've barely survived because I've never had enough money. When Daya and I found this shack, it was about to collapse. With her help though, we managed to make it livable. Now, thanks to my selfishness, she's dead. My best friend is freaking dead," Joey opened his mouth to say something but Smokey cut him off, "don't bother, okay? I just need some time alone."

Joey watched his friend walk sullenly into the house. Something red in the edges of his vision caught his attention. He recognized it as the package that had resulted in this whole mess. What happened wasn't going to waste and he picked up the parcel and headed to town.

The Pikachu was leaning against the board by the post office when he noticed a purple figure coming from the west. Joey recognized it as the Rattata, their client. The Pokémon started to run when it saw that Joey was waiting.

"Hey man, you got my stuff?" it asked when it got close. The Rattata seemed to have a Spanish accent but that must have been Joey's imagination.

"I got it," Joey answered and held out the parcel to show him. It tried to grab it but the Pikachu pulled it out of his reach, "but first you're going to tell me why this is so damn important."

"Come on, man, just give my stuff," he pleaded, "I got good money for you, man."

"Tell me what it is or I'll find out for myself," Joey demanded stubbornly.

"Just give me my stuff, man!"

"Tell me what it is."

"Please!"

"That's it," Joey reached the end of his patience. He put his back to the Rattata and tore open the red fabric, "What the hell is this," It wasn't a question. Joey knew exactly what the contents were. He spun around and shoved the palm full of mushrooms under the purple rodent's nose, "let me repeat that for you. What the hell is this?"

"They're magic mushrooms, man," he answered, his voice quivering, "I dropped them in the forest when someone startled me."

"I nearly died to retrieve this," Joey hissed coldly, "as a matter of fact, someone did die and you're telling me that we were salvaging your drugs!"

"I'm sorry, man, I needed my fix, man," he tried to explain in a trembling voice but Joey was beyond reason.

"You deceitful piece of shit!" Joey roared, "Take your damned mushrooms and get the hell out of my sight!" he chucked the mushrooms as far as he could, scattering the fungus around the grass. The Rattata hurried off to collect them and left behind a small sack of money. Joey picked it up and stomped into town, nearly blinded by rage.

A deep voice called out, "Hey, Joey, in town by yourself today?" Joey turned to see the Leaky walking along the path to greet him. Even though he was in a bad mood, he attempted to feign happiness but Leaky's face changed when he saw Joey's face, "whoa, what happened to your face?"

Joey brought his hand to his face and felt a sharp sting. He grimaced when he remembered what happened, "friendly fire," he said simply.

"By the looks of those burns, I don't think that fire was friendly at all," Leaky chuckled.

"Haha, you're hilarious," Joey said in deadpan, "Smokey hit me in the face with a fireball."

"You guys get into an argument?" Leaky asked, his concern clearly shown on his face. Joey shook his head and proceeded to explain. As usual, Leaky remained quiet throughout the whole story. At the end, he let out a long sigh, "Aw damn, she and Smokey were really close."

"I know, the guy is crushed," Joey told him, "I don't know what to do to cheer him up. Got any ideas?"

"Joey, things like these don't go away quickly," Leaky started to explain slowly, "I know from personal experience. Now, I don't like to tell others this story but when I was younger, only a Lotad, two of my friends died. A Gyarados snatched them up and dragged them underwater. I couldn't help them and they drowned. I was in a bad state for weeks. Eventually, I did recover and Smokey will too. You just need to give him some time."

Joey looked down at his feet, thinking over Leaky's advice. It was true, only time could heal wounds left by losing loved ones. He just had to give Smokey time, but how long that would take was unknown. A piece of string sticking out from under his fist reminded him of the money he had received from the job. He didn't want it, for it was tainted with Daya's blood. His anger flared up and he hurled it as far away as possible, landing deep in the forest.

"Why would you do that?" Leaky exclaimed, a little angry at the Pikachu, "You know that you and Smokey are not in the position to be tossing money away."

"I know, Leaky," Joey snapped, "It was payment for a drug run and it cost Daya her life. I don't want anything to do with that money."

"Drug run?" Leaky inquired and Joey told him about the mushrooms that were in the package, "are you sure they weren't just regular mushrooms?"

"They better be the best mushrooms on the planet then," Joey growled, "plus, he said he needed his 'fix'. That means he's an addict, and normal mushrooms aren't known for being addictive."

While they were talking, Joey noticed that they had arrived back in the town square. As usual, it was bustling with Pokémon of all shapes and colours. It struck Joey that he had been here for four days and he had no idea what was in town, except the post office. He pointed this out to Leaky.

"I do know this place like the back of my hand," he said, "If you want, I could show you the hotspots."

Joey agreed and they set off around town, starting from the west. Leaky pointed out Felicity Bank, which was run by a female Persian named Musang. Next, they passed the Link Shop, where one could learn how to string multiple attacks together, for a price. Joey thought that might be useful in giving his physical attacks a bit more of a punch. On the other side of the intersection was Kangaskhan Storage. It was similar to the storage spaces humans used to keep their precious items in. Opposite of the storage was Kelcleon Wares, the only store in town which was run by the Kelcleon twins.

They stood in the middle of the square now and Leaky continued to point things out. There was Walo's Dinner to the north, which had decent food for a decent price. It was owned by a family of Tentacool and Tentacruel. On the northern outskirts was Whiscash Pond. The oldest resident lived there and would tell stories to entertain the young. South of the town was the Dojo, where Pokémon could train for harder missions. Along the same road was MacKabil's, the local bar. It was built by Mac, a Feraligatr, who allowed nearly everyone into the bar if he thought you were old enough to drink.

"That can't be it," Joey said, "with all these buildings and Pokémon here, there has to be more stores."

"There is a lot more," Leaky confirmed, "I was just pointing out the main ones for now. Before you head home, you should pick up some Rawst cream for that burn from Kelcleon. You better hurry too, the sun's going down."

"There's still plenty of light left," Joey pointed out but Leaky just shook his head.

"Your house is a long way from here," he told the Pikachu, "you get some mean Pokémon who come out and hunt at night. If they see you, they'll kill you. No offense Joey, but you're pretty small. You'd be a likely target."

Joey grumpily mumbled in agreement and said goodbye to the Lombre. As Leaky headed home, Joey made his way to the shop. Bells chimed from above when he opened the door.

"Herb, get to the counter, we got a customer!" someone yelled from within the store.

"I'm busy in the back," another called out, "you take this one, Thyst."

"You're useless, you know that, right?"

"Just take the counter and stop complaining!"

"Ugh, fine," the first voice resigned and Joey saw the counter. It was empty until a purple lizard suddenly appeared in front of him. The Kelcleon looked down at the Pikachu from behind the counter and flinched when he saw the burn, "Rawst cream, right?" he guessed. Joey nodded and he called to the back, "Herb, get some Rawst cream from the back."

"Just get some from the shelves," a voice the Joey guessed belonged to Herb.

"You're already back there, just bring some to the front!" Thyst shouted.

"Fine!" Herb yelled and soon a green Kelceon emerged from a door behind the counter. He had a small tin in his hand and he threw it onto the counter. He stood next to his brother and examined Joey's face.

"Yes, it is a burn," Joey snapped, "and it hurts like hell. Now can you please stop staring at it?"

"I was just wondering if I've seen you around town," Herb said after his brother chuckled, "are you new here?"

"Yeah, I came about four days ago," Joey said and Thyst suddenly perked up.

"Hey, Herb, he's Joey!" he exclaimed. Herb stared at his brother before emitting a surprised sound too.

"You mean he's the Pikachu who took out a whole gang of Geodude?" he asked. The question wasn't only towards his brother but to Joey also.

"How'd you hear about that?" Joey asked, "I didn't think anyone knew what happened in the cave."

"Everyone in town knows who you are," Herb explained, "as soon as you blasted Manac you've been the buzz of the town."

"That's cool and all but I need to get going before it gets dark," Joey said with an air of breathlessness. He reached down for his pockets when he remembered that he wasn't wearing clothes, let alone pants, "uh... it appears I've forgotten my money. Anyway I can pay you back later?"

"Don't worry, first purchase at the store is free," Thyst told him, "you only get one though, keep that in mind."

"I will," Joey said and picked up the small can of burn heal, "thanks for everything."

"No problem, come back anytime!" they called out to Joey as he left the store. He left town and followed the now familiar road back to Smokey's house. It started to get dark really fast and his ears started to pick up more noises. Remembering what Leaky said, he started to run and arrived back home with no incident.

Upon entering the house, he noticed that Smokey was already asleep. Joey flopped down on his mattress and read the instructions on the back of the can. They were fairly simple and he applied a thin layer of the cream to the burnt areas. The effect was immediate, soothing the damaged skin. He switched from a sitting position and into his back, falling asleep instantly.


	17. A Morning for Mourning

The sun was at its peak by the time Joey woke up the next day. The Pikachu felt his face, cracking of the layer of hardened paste. He felt around the formally burnt skin, pleased to find it mostly healed. Feeling thoroughly refreshed, he rolled over to talk to his friend. However, Smokey wasn't on his bed and, after frantically checking around the single room, wasn't even in the house. Joey started to panic, until he saw the note on the ground next to his bed.

He picked up the sheet of paper, only to stare blankly at it. For a second he thought he forgot how to read. Then he realized that what he was trying to read wasn't English. It wasn't even a human language.

The characters were strange. It was like an animal walked in ink then on paper. Joey knew this wasn't the case almost instantly. The markings seemed to have some sort of an order to them. He noticed that many of the characters repeated themselves. What he was looking at was clearly a different language. That information was useless though. He still had no idea what it was saying.

He crinkled up the paper and threw it to the ground. Where did Smokey go? Where could he have gone? The town seemed like the only option. Joey couldn't think of a anywhere else. His friend seemed too depressed to be finding a job. Not after yesterday's events. It wasn't like they were running low on food or supplies, at least, not to his knowledge. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't think of a proper reason to why Smokey would leave.

_The town has a pub_. Joey's eyes widened in shock upon this realization. He swore loudly and ran out of the house, his morning tiredness disappearing entirely.

As his feet pounded along the ground, his brain kept bringing up bad memories. His real father died when he was eleven, leaving behind a distraught mother, two sons and a daughter. Shortly after, Joey's friend, Manny, was a victim of a drive-by. Going through the hardest time in his short life, Joey had to take care of his younger siblings while their mother resorted to drugs and alcohol to eliminate her grief. It took two years and a new husband to finally break her out of her habits. All of that flashed before his eyes, making him even more determined to prevent Smokey from that same fate.

He ran into town so fast that he didn't even register Leaky's enthusiastic hello. MacKabil's was on a side street and Joey whipped around the corner and skidded to a halt in front of the pub. How many times had he stared up at a bar door, debating if it was safe to drag his drunken mother home? Too many times. He prayed that he didn't find Smokey there as well.

The Pikachu took a deep breath and pushed open the door. The smell greeted him first. The familiar scent of smoke and various alcohols mingled in his nose. The sight of the bar relieved Joey somewhat. It was much cleaner than some of the bars he found his mom in. Then again, as long as it was somewhat clean it was better than most bars he'd seen. The floors were recently swept, some dirt strewn about here or there. Piles of rubbish could be seen along the floorboards. The bar was dimly lit by a few fluorescent rods hanging from the ceiling. How Pokémon made those, he had no idea.

Sure enough, to Joey's dismay, a lone Charmander sat at the bar, sipping frothy amber liquid from a frosty glass. Joey emitted a long groan. He never thought he would have to repeat this deed before. The Pikachu made his way to the bar, ignoring the stares of some of the more intimidating patrons, and hopped into the stool next to his friend. Smokey didn't notice him, but the bartender did.

"What'll yah have, lad?" the Feraligatr asked as Joey took a seat. He had to repress the urge to burst out laughing. The owner of the only pub in town just had to have an Irish accent.

"I'm not having anything," Joey replied, suddenly serious, and jutted a finger sideways, "neither will my friend, here. He's had too much as it is."

"Are yah kidding me, boy?" Mac laughed, "Yah friend has had a mere two pints!"

"Yeah, Joey, 'm'not that drunk," Smokey mumbled, slurring his words together.

"Sure you aren't," Joey said forcefully and yanked the beer out of his friend's hands. Mac had left to serve another customer and Smokey's protests fell on deaf ears, "You are not going to drink any more, you got that? It's not going to help you get over Daya at all."

"You sure 'bout that?" Smokey asked, "It's sure as hell helping me forget."

"Beer does that. It makes you forget," Joey was holding the glass as far away from Smokey as possible, "It makes you forget everything, little by little. But it never lasts. The next morning you wake up and it all the bad memories come rushing back."

"Then I'll just get drunk again. There. Problem solved."

"Smokey, that lifestyle will do nothing but kill you. Drinking away your problems night after night isn't going to solve anything. It'll just leave you off worse than before."

"Whad'you know 'bout grieving?" Smokey demanded, a thin trail of smoke forming from his nose. He took a sip from a glass that he had managed to get his hands on when Joey was distracted. The Pikachu looked up at Mac, who gave him a small grin and a shrug in return, "You dunno what I'm goin' through."

"I know exactly what you're going through," Joey replied through gritted teeth as he pried the glass away from his friend's hand again, "My friend was killed during a really hard part of my life. I had to deal with the death of my dad and my friend at the same time. I could've hit the drink whenever I wanted, but I didn't. Someone needed me to be there for them, so I sucked it up and stayed there. I need you, Smokey, and I need you to be sober. "

Smokey looked at him with somber, glassy eyes. His hands were wrapped around another glass.

"Okay, Mac, seriously," Joey griped, "stop giving this guy more drinks!"

"Yah friend told me to set'm up wit another whenever his hands were empty," Mac laughed as Joey struggled to keep away three beers. Smokey finally gave up.

"Fine," he sighed, "I promise I won't drink anymore. For you."

"Thanks buddy," Joey smiled and helped his friend off the stool.

"Oi!" Mac called out from behind the counter as they were leaving, "Yah didn't pay for yeh drinks!"

"Put it on our tab," Joey told him and exited the bar with Smokey in tow. After much persisting, Joey let go of Smokey to let him try to walk unassisted. A few wobbly steps later and Joey was satisfied that his friend could stand on his own. They were walking down the street when an unpleasant, yet familiar, voice rang called out to them.

"Who knew Mac would let such runts drink at his place?" Manac hollered after them. Joey stopped in his tracks, obviously frustrated. Today had started off rough and the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with someone's taunting.

"What do you want, Manac?" Joey asked as he turned to face the Scizor. He saw that his other team members were hanging back, not pleased with their friend's antics. Even if they didn't join Manac, Joey doubted if he and Smokey could take him in a fight. He doubted if Smokey could even stand on his own for more than a few minutes.

"Nothing, I'm just wondering why you two would be at a bar together," Manac said, feigning innocence. Smokey opened his mouth to probably say something that he would regret, so Joey spoke first.

"I'm trying to make sure he doesn't kill himself," Joey answered, telling the truth for unknown reasons, "so why don't you just bug off."

"_Oh, why don't you just bug off,_" he mimicked in a horrible representation of Joey's voice. Before he could do anything, Smokey replied in an angry yell.

"If we wanted our own come back we would've wiped it off your mother's chin!" he shouted, managing to avoid slurring his words. He seemed quite pleased by his insult. Joey, however, emitted a long, pained groan. He could almost feel Manac's pointed glare, for the Scizor had the look of a maniac. Smokey's words took effect on the dual type and he lunged at the smaller Pokémon.

"I'll kill you for saying that!" he roared as he charged. Smokey rushed in too, the alcohol causing him to be reckless. Fortunately for both parties, a fight never occurred. Irene's long body wrapped around Manac's, trapping him in a tight embrace. Joey pounced on Smokey and knocked his drunken friend over with ease. He struggled, but the Pikachu was able to subdue him.

"Manac, calm down!" Ignot shouted at his friend, who continued to struggle in the Steelix's iron grip, "He's drunk. He didn't mean what he said."

"I meant every word!" Smokey shouted, oblivious to the danger he was causing. Joey pushed his head back into the cobblestone ground.

"Shut up, Smokey, you're drunk. You don't know what you're saying," Joey growled, trying to keep his friend's mouth closed so he wouldn't try an attack. He resorted to just sitting on the Charmander's back and pushing his hand against the back of the fire type's head.

"We'll control our friend if you control yours," Irene suggested, readjusting her grip on the Scizor. Joey nodded and the Steelix and her companions left, with Manac still shouting at them.

"Next time I see you, I'm going to kill you!" he roared.

There was a metal clank. "Just shut up already," Ignot growled.

Smokey protested when he was forcefully hauled of the ground and dragged down the street without his consent. He was towed through the crowd and when they stopped, Joey's arm nearly strangled him because he was being held by the neck.

"Why're we by the diner?" Smokey asked, staring up at the building. Joey yanked him by the neck again and led him into the diner.

"I'm getting you sobered up," Joey snapped, half pushing Smokey into one of the chairs, "now wait here and I'm going to see if they have any coffee or something like that."

Joey left his friend at the table by himself. He could just wait for a waiter to come along, but the diner had many patrons and he doubted that they would be served quickly. Human diners usually had some sort of bar like area, where you could order food and get it right there. That is what the Pikachu was looking for and was relieved when he saw one. He hopped onto the free seat next to a pink bulldog like Pokémon and waved to get the attention of the Tentacruel behind the counter.

"What can I get for you," he asked, floating over to Joey. His voice was low and had a peculiar tone. One would say it sounded evil or venomous, but the simple statement sounded well meaning at the same time.

"Uh... right. I need some coffee," Joey said after a few seconds. He noticed a humorous glint in the Tentacruel's eyes upon sating this. A spark of annoyance ran through his body, "What's so funny?"

"I am truthfully sorry. It's just that young electric types shouldn't usually ingest caffeine. It makes them hyper," he said with a slight chuckle, "their power levels spike and their attacks become quite powerful."

"I'll keep that in mind," Joey said, meaning that completely, "Don't worry about me though. I'm using the coffee to sober a friend up."

Joey jutted a finger back to Smokey's table so the dual-type could see. The Tentacruel leaned to the left to get a better look while his many arms poured various drinks.

"The table you're pointing at is empty," he told Joey. The Pikachu grabbed his drink and began to turn towards where he was pointing.

"Are you sure? It's the one with the Char- wait, what!" Joey changed direction in midsentence. The table where he left Smokey was indeed empty, "where the hell did that drunk go?"

The answer to his question came in the form of an angry yell, "I can totally take you on! You don't stand a chance!" Joey groaned, for the voice belonged to Smokey. He grabbed the coffee and ran, very carefully, to the source of the commotion. His eyes widened when he saw what was going on.

The drunken Charmander was standing by a table occupied by three Pokémon, all larger than he was. His challenges were thankfully being ignored by the three, but Joey could tell one was getting angered. The green Pokémon with leaf like appendages and yellow bulbs along its back seemed to be struggling to keep himself from pounding the lizard senseless. Its friends were preventing that from happening.

The smallest and the blue one had orange fins on the side of its face. He was mumbling under his breath, telling his friend to stay calm. The tall red one was taking a more physical route and kept a three fingered hand on its shoulder.

"Come on, you're not too big of a wuss to fight, are yah?" Smokey challenged, swaying on his feet. His face was a dark shade of red and small flames were produced whenever he spoke. Finally, the green Pokémon had enough and shot up from his seat.

"You wanna piece of me?" he roared, towering over Smokey. Joey's friend didn't seem to show fear. The beer was giving him a bad case of overconfidence.

"Aw damn," Joey swore and rushed in to prevent the fight. The cup of scalding liquid clanged wildly and threatened to spill, "CATCH!" he yelled and threw the cup and saucer at the red Pokémon. He tossed it in a way that both pieces of tableware flew together in a slow spin. It was caught easily, as the Pikachu intended. Joey wasn't following the dish's flight, but proceeded to ram Smokey in the side with tackle. They rolled for a short distance before Joey managed to pin his friend once again.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Smokey exclaimed, shooting some flames out of his mouth as he spoke. He didn't know if that was voluntary or a result from the alcohol, but Joey forced the Charmander's mouth shut regardless of the reason.

"Stop trying to talk. You're spitting out flames. In case you haven't noticed, I still haven't fully healed from the last time you burned me," Joey angled his face so that Smokey could see the semi-healed burns that covered half his face. Smokey relaxed a bit from the sight and Joey acted upon the moment of ease. He turned back to Pokémon he had thrown the coffee at, "pass the cup," he told it. When it didn't respond, he repeated the demand a little more forcefully. It understood the second time and gave him the cup. Joey then pried open the fire-type's jaws.

"What is that? What're you planning?" Smokey tried to ask, but is words were distorted from his mouth being forced open. He saw his friend bringing a cup filled with steaming liquid over his open maw, "oh you 'etter not do what I th-"

Joey poured the hot coffee down his throat all at once. He jumped off his friend so he could cough up what went into his lungs.

"Are you trying to drown me and scald me at the same time?" Smokey yelled after he was done clearing his lungs. He seemed to have sobered up from that experience, "What are you thinking?"

"What am _I_ thinking?" Joey asked in disbelief, "You're the one who's trying to pick a fight with someone who's twice your size! What I did could be considered responsible compared to that!"

"You poured boiling coffee down my throat!"

"You're a fire type, you can handle the heat."

"Exactly, I'm a fire type. Fire beats grass. I could've taken this chump."

"Okay, you've stopped thinking again. Go outside and stay there," Joey said, getting fed up with Smokey's attitude.

"But-" Smokey started but Joey cut him off again.

"No 'buts'," he told the Charmander. His tone reminded him of the voice parents use when scolding a child, "You go and wait for me outside right now. Don't you even think of starting a fight or I will electrocute you."

Smokey tried to protest again, but Joey silenced him with a stern look. Grumbling under his breath about how unfair this was, Smokey trudged to the exit.

Joey took a deep breath and held it as he ran his hands through the short fur on his scalp. It was a habit from when he was a human and actually had hair, so it took a moment to get rid of the shock when he thought he had gone bald. He released the breath in a long, exasperated sigh. The past few hours had felt like the two years he had spent taking care of his family. Smokey was like a child and a drunk at the same time. Not a great combination.

"Look, I'm sorry about my friend," Joey told the three as he turned to face them, "he's been hitting the bottle after being through some rough stuff."

"Your friend is lucky that you intervened," the green one said, shrugging out of his friend's grip, "a few more seconds and I would've beaten that kid to a pulp. I don't even care if he was drunk. He was pissing me off."

"I'm more impressed about how you took control of that," the red one said, taking her seat, "it's hard to make a drunken idiot do exactly what you say. You treated him like a child."

"Yeah, well, I've been in a lot of these messes," Joey said with a grimace, "Sometimes drunks and children are remarkably similar and I've had to take care of both many times. More than once have they been the same person."

"Be careful next time," the blue one said, "Just because we're a rescue team doesn't mean we won't fight you. Get on our nerves enough and you can guarantee there'll be trouble."

"Like I don't know that already," Joey mumbled, thinking specifically of Team Steel, "Once again, sorry for this. I guess I'll see you around town... maybe."

Joey exited the restaurant and was relieved to find that Smokey was waiting. The Charmander was leaning against the wall, staring glumly at his feet. Joey poked him in the side and signalled wordlessly that it was time to leave. Smokey didn't protest in being lead home and kept his eyes locked to the ground. Not a word had been said by the time they reached the edge of town.

"You're an idiot," Joey said, his harsh tone breaking the silence. Smokey switched his gaze from the ground to his friend and stared at the Pikachu with expressionless eyes, "That's all there is to it. You were acting like a huge idiot back there. The Smokey I thought I knew would never pull that crap."

"I... I'm sorry, Joey," Smokey mumbled, hurt filling his voice, "I don't know why, but I was just so angry at everything. I just wanted to punch someone."

"I know, drinking turns you into a different person," Joey said. His voice took on a thoughtful tone, "I think you started to act this way because I dragged you out of the fight to avenge Daya. You've been taking out your rage on everyone else. You act like me when you're drunk," he chuckled at that last part but his voice turned serious again, "but you don't want to be like me, Smokey. We can't have two hotheads on this team or else we'd die too quickly. You're the one who thinks before you act, not me. You can't keep dwelling on the bad things that have happened in your life. There are good things back there too. Focus on those or you'll just end up a bitter asshole."

Joey was about to add 'like me' to the end but decided against it. It was just one more thing Smokey didn't need to know about his past. He suppressed the memories that tried to surface, not wanting to deal with them.

"When we get back home, I want you to go to sleep and stay on your side," Joey ordered his friend as the small shack came into sight, "I need to go back to town to deal with some unfinished business."

"Why d'you want me to sleep? It's the middle of the afternoon," Smokey questioned, which brought an aggravated groan from Joey.

"I want you to rest so you can think straight again," Joey explained quickly, "As for sleeping on your side, that's to prevent you from choking on your vomit in case you throw up."

Smokey took a while to respond. By the time he did, they were at the door, "That can happen?"

"More often than you think," Joey sighed as he ushered the fire type through the door and to his bed, "Now sleep and wait for me to get back. Don't go wandering off."

Smokey lay down and mumbled in agreement. It didn't take long for snores to start emitting from his open mouth.

Joey took the Toolbox and brought it next to the fireplace. He ran his fingers over the stone until he found the loose brick and removed it. There was a small alcove behind it which contained a pile of Poké.

Smokey had shown his hiding spot to Joey on his first day in this strange world. He used it to hide his few valuables to prevent anyone from just walking in and robbing him while he was out. It couldn't fit much inside it other than Poké and a few other items, but it served its purpose well.

Joey emptied the contents of the nylon bag into the niche. There were only a few Oran berries and an apple left in it and the small storage still had some space left. Joey scraped a small amount of money into the now empty bag and sealed the hole shut before tiptoeing silently to the door.

He glanced back at the snoring Charmander. Every time Smokey exhaled, a small plume of smoke escaped. Joey grinned at the sight and after convincing himself that Smokey would be alright, he headed back to town.

* * *

The bell chimed as Joey exited Kecleon Wares for the second time. He scratched at the peeling skin on the side of his face. His mouth stretched into a grimace as he remembered how he received it. In his other hand he held the remaining Poké that he had collected from the shack. He shoved the small amount into its designated pocket in the Toolbox.

When Joey had dragged Smokey from town, they had left a lot of unpaid bills behind. Knowing what happened to people in debt, he had been eager to pay off the amount they owed. Along with buying extra supplies, that had been the purpose of his return trip.

With the nylon bag now comfortably full on his back, the lone Pikachu started in the direction of Smokey's shack. He didn't get very far before noticing three Pokémon coming directly towards him.

He had never seen the trio before, nor did he know what kind of Pokémon they were. One clearly resembled a purple snake, which slithered along next to its friends. The next reminded Joey of a human wearing baggy, red pants, only its body was grey. The last one, which walked in the middle of the other two, gave Joey a feeling of inexplicable dread. Dark purple in colour, it hovered off the ground by a few centimeters.

Joey came to a full stop, looking up at the three, seemingly menacing, Pokémon. The leader gave the electric-type a friendly smile, which instead of reassuring Joey, sent a shiver down his spine.

"What do you want?" Joey demanded, keeping his fear from his voice.

"We've heard a few interesssssting sssssstories about you," the snake said, "thought you might be curiousssss about an offer we have for you."

"Go on..." despite how sinister this felt to Joey, he was compelled to ask for more information.

"All you have to do is deliver one of our packages from Sinister Woods and bring it to our client in Thunderwave Cave," the purple one said. Another, more violent, shiver passed through Joey when it talked. While it wasn't trying to sound wicked, its voice reeked of evil, "It would be easy for team with a reputation like yours."

"It's not like it would be you first time," the grey one said, its voice slightly higher than its friends, which was followed by a brief chuckle, "one of our deliverers told us that you assisted in and accomplished one of our smaller tasks."

A literal spark of anger rushed through Joey's fur. He struggled to keep calm, for he suspected these Pokémon were asking him to do a lot more than just deliver a package. After all, the package he delivered was full of magic mushrooms.

"Are you asking me to be a drug runner?" Joey asked in a low voice, attempting to keep his voice steady.

"Well, we don't like to call it by that name. We prefer carrier," the purple one responded, "but yes, you would technically be a runner."

"I'll have to say no to this," Joey said, barely able to keep his anger under control. He wanted to fight badly, but the logical side of his brain reminded him that his backup was currently passed out drunk.

"Maybe five thousand Poké will change your mind," it said, and with a chuckle, conjured a sack of money from thin air, "What do you say now?"

Joey tried and failed in keeping his anger down. "Why don't you take that money and shove it where the sun don't shine," he growled and walked away. The trio made no move to confront him and when Joey looked around, he knew why.

Many small groups of Pokémon were watching, including the one from the diner. Chances are, if there was a fight, they would have joined in to stop it. Joey was thankful for that and the walk home was uneventful.

He tossed the bag to the ground and dropped into his bed. Smokey was still snoring on his side, the occasional flame snorting out.

Joey rolled onto his back and stared at the hole ridden ceiling, suddenly feeling exhausted. It was still light outside, so he could not have been up for long.

The day's events must have been more tiring than he thought, both physically and mentally. Taking care of Smokey brought up some bad memories that he didn't want to relive.

The Pikachu let out a long sigh and he found his eyes starting to droop. Not wanting to fight it, he allowed himself to fall into sleep. His past did not though, and took advantage of his unconscious mind to come back to life.

* * *

_A/N: As you can see from this chapter, I'm not too good at accents. Even writing them seems to be difficult. If you know any ways of improving Mac's Irish accent or imitating other ones, post a review with some information._


	18. Parvo's Problem

_Where am I?_ That was the first question that came to Joey's mind. All that he could see was a thick, green fog. He looked around in the green haze, trying to find something that seemed solid, but was greeted only by the strange fog. When he looked down, he saw that there was literally only fog.

There was no ground beneath his feet, only more of the green haze. It took a moment to realize, but he didn't even have feet. His head shot back and forth, examining his body to see if he was missing anymore body parts. Panic started to rise in him when he saw that he didn't have a body anymore.

He was simply floating in a weird fog, with no body. Only his mind existed in this strange world.

_What is going on here?_ No sooner did that thought pass through his head than a shadow emerged from the haze. As he watched it get closer, its features became more defined. It grew larger and larger until it completely engulfed him. He screwed his eyes shut, but to his horror, he could still see. He had no eyelids to block the visions in this world.

From the darkness, shapes started to appear. They grew more detailed until he saw that he was at the top of flight of stairs. They lead down to a door which Joey assumed went to the outside. He examined the dingy house more, trying to determine where he was.

The place looked rundown; the wallpaper was peeling, holes could be seen in the walls and yet the house seemed to be relatively clean. Along the staircase hung pictures, and while their contents were too blurry to see, Joey knew what they held. He was ashamed how long it took, but he realized where he was.

He stood at the staircase of his home. Not Smokey's shack in the Pokémon world, but his home from when he was human. Sadness welled up inside of him and if he had eyes, he would have cried. It was no more than a week since he had last seen the inside of his home, but he felt the strong feeling of nostalgia upon seeing it again. He knew that he would only see it again in his memories.

A knock came from the door. Joey had a sudden, horrible thought to what this might be. It never occurred to him that this was more than picture, but it might actually be a section of his life.

A woman came from below the stairs and rushed towards the door. When she opened it, Joey saw the look of shock on her face.

A policeman stood at the door, holding his hat uncertainly in his hands. His eyes were locked to the ground and he squeezed his hat into different shapes.

"Mom, who is it?" a young voice called from the upstairs rooms. Joey looked to his left to see a younger version of himself running out of the room. Young Joey came to a rest beside the top of the stairs and watched as the policeman talked to his mother.

Neither Joey heard what was said, but the impact of the words was clear by their mother's reaction. She burst out crying and slumped forward. The officer caught her and supported her.

"Mom? What happened?" Joey's younger self asked from the stairs. When his mother didn't respond, his voice became smaller so it was barely a whisper, "Mom…?"

The house started to melt away before Joey's eyes. He was grateful for the release from his past. That memory was one of the many that haunted his dreams and he just wanted out.

The room in front of him didn't disappear back into the fog. Instead, it became black as night again before reforming into another scene. Joey wanted out instantly, recognizing the memory as soon as the room formed.

The room was spacious, occupied by a small crowd of people clothed in dark outfits. Many were crying, not caring to wipe the tears of their faces. A casket stood at the far end of the room, open so you could see the pale face within it.

He was inside a funeral home, but this memory was not from his first visit. Four figures approached the casket and Joey felt his body move against his will, being pushed to the front of the room. He wished more than ever for eyelids to block out what would come next.

When he stopped moving, he was hovering over the casket, looking straight down at the dead person. The body didn't belong to his father, but to his friend, Manny. The figures in front of the casket mirrored his grief.

He shifted his gaze from Manny's body to his three friends and his younger self. They were huddled together for comfort, each one with a tear streaked face. No words were needed to express their sadness. Their friend in a coffin did that for them.

The funeral home started to fade once again and Joey had a foolish hope that this ordeal was over.

He was wrong.

When the darkness was replaced, he was floating high above a city. Smoke filled the sky from the many factories and skyscrapers shot to the sky, competing to be the biggest.

_No… not this one… anything but this!_ Joey was screaming now, unable to handle what was happening. Even though he didn't have a body, he could hear his tortured yells. _This is too much! __**NOOOOOOOO**__!_

"_AAAAAAARGH!_"

Joey shot up from his bed, screaming at the top of his lungs. He was covered in a cold sweat and shaking violently. A whimper escaped his lips and he buried his face in his hands.

'_It was just a dream, just a dream. It's in your past now. It can't hurt you_,' Joey thought to himself. His body stopped shaking but pressure built behind his eyes.

"Joey…?" a small voice asked from beside him. Joey turned his head towards the voice, leaving a crack in between his hands to see. Smokey was laying in his side, eyes full of concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Joey croaked out, his voice hoarse, "I just need to get some air."

"You need some company?" Smokey asked and he started to get up.

"No... I need to be alone," Joey mumbled, shaking his head. He got up and walked to the door on shaky legs.

Smokey watched his friend leave. He knew that Joey was lying about being fine. You don't scream in your sleep when you're fine. He knew better, though, than to follow Joey outside. His friend said he wanted to be alone and it seemed to be the best option this time.

When Joey left the house, he collapsed against the exterior and slid down into a sitting position. He brought his knees to his forehead and wrapped his hands around his legs. In the growing brightness of sunrise, one could see his back heaving heavily and a wet face, if it was exposed. It had taken him five days, but he was finally crying and releasing the misery that had been building inside of him.

The memories, coupled with the previous day, shook him to his very core. It wasn't the pain of what happened that broke through his defenses, but the pain of what it all meant. Just like his father and Manny, Joey had left his friends behind through the worst manner possible.

Through his death.

He had tried to block out the truth, but he had to face it at last. He would never see his old life again, no matter how hard he tried. Even if he could somehow return, it would never be the same. The life of his friends and family would never be the same either.

When he died, his family lost a son and a sibling. His group lost one of their closest friends. Joey knew the pain his loved ones were going through. He had faced it enough times before. But now, he had to cope with the fact that he was putting them through that nightmare all over again. The weight of that fact came crashing down on him and he sobbed even harder.

He could not help but think of what they were going through. Did his mom relapse into her drinking habits? How were his friends handling the death of yet another of their closest friends? Questions raced through Joey's mind but he did not want to know the answers, fearing the outcome.

The sun was shining brightly and was peeking over the tree line by the time the tears ran dry. Taking a deep breath, he stood up with some help from the shack wall. His ears perked up at the faint sound of voices coming from along the path. He wiped the tears from his eyes, determined not to look weak for any wandering Pokémon.

Joey loved at how sensitive his hearing had become, one of the many plusses that came out of his death. He could hear so much more than he could as a human. As the voices became gradually louder, Joey determined that there was three in total. He recognized who they belonged to and he started to get angry before even seeing the trio. Forgetting any sense of remorse, he ran to the end of the lot to intercept the group.

"Looksssss like he'ssssss more eager to greet usssss than we are to greet him," the snake commented to his two friends as Joey ran onto the road.

"Why did you come here?" Joey demanded. The trace of fear from yesterday was completely overcome by his anger. Their true natures made Joey hate them more than he could have believed.

"We just wanted to visit and let you know that our offer still stands," the leader said, his evil grin returning to his face. He vanished and reappeared, closing the gap between them with alarming speed. Still levitating a few inches off the ground, he shrunk his size to the point where he could look Joey in the eyes without bending down, "That is, of course, if you've changed your mind. We're willing to let the events of yesterday go like they never happened, but only if you accept."

"The reward for the job hasn't changed either," the grey one added. She received an approving glance from the leader before he returned his attention to Joey.

"So, what do you say?" he asked, his grin growing wider.

"Heh, you think you can bribe me into doing this?" Joey said, his anger building to dangerous levels, "no amount of money will change the fact that you're making me run drugs that ruins people's lives."

"You got off lucky yesterday, runt," the leader scowled, "no one shows us that level of disrespect and gets away unscathed. The rescue teams in the square were the only reason you didn't get pummelled yesterday."

Any Pokémon would be scared by the glare Joey was receiving. It was full of hate and evil that would make many cower. But Joey wasn't fully in control of what his actions. He was being directed by his anger for these Pokémon at this point.

"My response from yesterday is still the same," he growled, looking the leader right in the eye as sparks cascaded down his fur, "You can take your offer... AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!"

"Wrong decision," the leader snarled and grew to three times his size in an instant. His companions quickly surrounded the smaller Pikachu.

Three on ones never go well for the lone fighter. In this case, it was an unevolved Pokémon going up against two that had evolved. If Joey had any knowledge of Pokémon before, he might have been afraid to fight against both a Gengar and a Medicham. He didn't know what his opposition was, so he had no idea what he was getting in to.

The snake wrapped Joey with its long body before he even knew they were fighting. Caught by surprise, he released a powerful wave of electricity that fried the reptilian Pokémon. Its hold faltered, allowing the Pikachu to escape. As soon as Joey freed himself, a powerful set of hands hauled him off his feet. The leader was facing him, smiling widely.

"You asked for this," he mocked and stuck out his massive, pink tongue. Before he could react, the leader licked the Pikachu, leaving a trail of slime on his fur.

It was one of the most awful things Joey had ever experienced. The slimy tongue travelling across his face wasn't even the worst part. All the fight faded from him, replaced by a feeling of dread. Coldness spread across his limbs and seeped into his bones. Colours seemed to fade from his surrounding and his once sharp hearing was dulled.

"What should we do now?" voice from behind him asked. It sounded like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel, yet it was next to his ear.

"I have something in mind," another voice cackled. He felt himself moving forward, towards the house. The snake that he shocked was smiling, enjoying the sight of Joey's suffering. It opened the mailbox with a muffled _CLANG _and removed the mail from within.

Sirens went off in Joey's slow mind. The sharp sound brought him partially back to reality as he realized what was coming next. He started to squirm weakly in a futile attempt to escape.

"You wouldn't dare," he growled as he struggled with his captors. The trio cackled an evil laugh.

"And what are you going to do to stop us?" one said softly into Joey's ear, sending a shiver up his spine.

All Joey could do was groan loudly as the opening to the mailbox rushed towards his face. His ears were forced back, fur and skin stretched, jaw scraped and eyes were blinded all at the same time. He barely had time to register these different pains before his head slammed against the other side of the mailbox, causing him to blackout.

Somehow, Smokey didn't wake through his friend's fight. Whether it was depression or weariness from the day before, or maybe a combination of both, he remained asleep throughout the whole ordeal. When he did stir, he heard the sound of a high pitched voice grunting.

"Come on! You have to get out of there!" it squealed, which was followed by a muffled yelp of pain.

"Don't pull from the tail! Pull from the legs!" it cried and Smokey realized who it was. He sat up on his mattress and stretched, releasing a long yawn. After cracking his neck, he stood up and went to check out what Joey had managed to get himself into this time. His jaw dropped.

A Caterpie was tugging with all its might at a yellow body that was stuck head first in their mailbox. The yellow and brown tail that was sticking out could only be identified as a Pikachu. The bug Pokémon noticed Smokey and called for his attention.

"Hi, Mr. Charmander!" he yelled, waving him over with one of its many legs, "Can you help me get Joey out of this? Some mean guys stuck him in the mailbox."

"Yo, Smokey, is that you?" Joey yelled in a muffled voice, "Something bad happened to Caterpie and I need you to get me out. No offense, Caterpie, but you're too weak."

"I know. I'm useless until I evolve..."

"Awww... now don't say that," Smokey said and went over to the young bug type. He crouched down next to it for comfort, "you're not as useless as you say you are. You'll be a Butterfree in no time."

"I know it's nice to make the kid feel better, _but I'm still stuck!_" Joey complained from the confines of the mailbox, "It's getting kind of hard to breathe..."

Smokey smiled mischievously as he stood back up. "Oh, right, how you doing in there anyway, little guy?" he rapped on the metal surface with his knuckles, sending a vibrations throughout the whole box.

"Hey! That was my head you know!" Joey exclaimed, "Don't do that, you're making my brain rattle in my skull."

Smokey chuckled to himself and went to free his friend. Whoever stuck Joey in there really did a good job at wedging him in. Half of the Pikachu's body was stuck and his arms were pinned to his sides, making it impossible for him to escape by himself. Smokey grabbed hold of his friend's legs and pulled hard. With a _pop_, Joey came free of his cramped, metal prison and they tumbled to the ground.

"Man, that was uncomfortable," Joey groaned, rubbing his sore arms, "how did they even fit me in there?"

Smokey laughed and picked himself off the dirt. A glance at Joey made the sound stop in his throat. His friend noticed the change instantly.

"What's wrong?" Joey asked, clearly perplexed. While he couldn't see it, the entire lower part of his face was stained with blood.

"Um... you're face is... uh... covered... in blood," Smokey had trouble putting that into a complete sentence. He was worried that the electric-type may panic but Joey wiped his mouth and laughed as his hand came away covered in red.

"Why are you so worried about _this_?" Joey laughed, not caring at all, "it's just a bloody nose, we've been through worse. We nearly got blown to pieces by a group of Electrode and this bothers you?"

"Yeah, it was just a bit shocking to see half of your face covered in blood," Smokey sighed and gave a light chuckle, "it looks like you've been drinking the stuff like you were a Zubat."

"Trust me, I've been in worse condition than this," Joey told his friend. Then, completely ignoring his mess, he turned to the Caterpie, "hey... aren't you the kid we saved from Tiny Woods a while back?"

"Yeah, I am," he confirmed, "by the way, my name is Parvo."

"Cool, so what did you want?" Joey asked in a friendly demeanor.

"If I tell you, but you have to promise not to tell my mommy," he said, his fear shown clearly in his eyes. Regardless, both of the older Pokémon nodded, "Well, my friend, Kabi, and I thought it would be cool to go exploring Sinister Woods by ourselves. It was really awesome in there but we somehow got split up and I couldn't find her again. Can you go look for her? I can't because my mom will yell at me for going in there."

"We'll do it," Smokey agreed instantly. Joey gave him a look as if to _ask what are you doing? _Then he understood why his friend was so eager to rush back into Sinister Woods. He's felt it before and he knew what Smokey was thinking. Parvo and Smokey didn't notice as he got up and sneaked into the shack.

"Really? Wow! That's great to hear!" the Caterpie exclaimed. It went better than expected but he had one problem, "but since I can't let my mommy know, I have no money to pay you. Will you still accept?"

"Sure we will. We don't need to be paid when someone needs to be rescued," Smokey said, doing his best to hide his real reasons, "is there anything else you have to tell us?"

"Well, I lost her deep in the woods," Parvo began, his eyes facing the sky while trying to remember, "the last time I remember seeing her was by a cliff with a waterfall. We were on the top part and I remember her telling me not to fall off. Also, after Team Meanies-"

"I'm sorry? Who?" Smokey interrupted.

"Team Meanies," the Caterpie repeated, "they were the ones that shoved Joey in the mailbox. When I came here looking for you guys, they forced the reason out of me," the young bug-type's voice started to falter, "They said they would t-take my mission w-whether I liked it or not and w-w-when th-they were d-done, they w-would want a reward. If I-I don't p-pay them, they'll force it from my p-parents..."

Smokey nodded and for a moment, his face was grim. He changed it to a smile again quickly, "don't worry. We'll find Kabi before they do. You can count on that."

"Thank you so much!" Parvo squealed in joy. Tears could be seen forming on the edges of his eyes from both happiness and relief.

"What's the plan?" Smokey heard Joey ask. He turned to tell him but realized that the Pikachu wasn't on the side he was on before. He looked to the other side and found his friend.

"We're going back into Sinister Woods to the waterfall," Smokey told him, "the guys who shoved you into the box are also looking for the kid and if they get her first, they're going to demand payment. We should probably get some supplies now that I think about it..."

"Got that covered already," Joey said and pointed out the full bag next to him. Smokey didn't even realize he left.

"Where did you go?" he asked, staring at the bag in astonishment, "and when did you get more supplies?"

"After I forced you to bed I went back to town to take care of some business. Speaking of which..." Joey hefted the bag off the ground and threw it at the Charmander, "you get to carry it today."

"Whoa, how come I have to carry this thing?" Smokey protested, still holding the bag in both arms. "I always carry it!"

"Consider it repayment for what you dragged me into last night," Joey said. There was a hint of resentment in his voice but that disappeared instantly, "now stop complaining. We got a kid to rescue! Don't worry Parvo, we'll get Kabi back in no time."

"Awesome! I'll just wait here for you guys, if that's okay with you," the Caterpie said, his face beaming with joy.

Joey looked up to his Charmander friend, "You ready for our next mission?"

"Way ahead of you," Smokey grunted and started to sprint along the path that would lead them to their destination. Joey hung back to give his friend a lead before chasing him into another adventure.


	19. Busting the Op

Now that Joey wasn't trying to block out what was happening around him, he was finally taking in how different this world was to its full extent. His eyes remained locked to the lush canopy of trees above him. The few parks in his city were tiny compared to this, and their trees were like toothpicks. He was amazed to the point where he thought that he was still asleep.

How did he manage to ignore the scenery for this long? What part of him resisted the amazement of this world and made him act like nothing was wrong? He had shrunk to a quarter of his human size and become a giant rat with the ability of releasing electricity. It baffled him that he did not even think that to be the coolest thing ever.

"What are you so happy about?" Smokey asked suddenly. He was staring back at Joey, confused by his friend's look of absolute wonder. He had no idea why Joey would find these woods so fascinating even though they travelled though them before.

"No reason. Just... happy to be alive," Joey replied and his grin grew wider. Another thing that he found awesome: his friend was a fire breathing lizard. His best friend was a dragon. Maybe he was small, but he was still a dragon, something Joey had wished for occasionally when he was a child.

'_What a weird Pikachu,'_ Smokey thought and let out a quiet snort of laughter. He started to scan the trees above him, in case Joey had been looking for predators. Only bird or grass Pokémon would live up high, and neither type would attack them. Scyther seemed to by the one major threat in these woods, but they hadn't entered into their territory yet.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" he heard Joey ask, his friend returning to his curious self.

"A Zubat is a bat like Pokémon that uses radar to navigate because it's blind," Smokey answered without hesitating or waiting for what Joey's actual question was, "Like I said before, they feast on the blood of other Pokémon."

"Uh... okay, that's cool, but not the question I had in mind," Joey said. Smokey was startled for a second and looked back at his friend, "Are the guys who stuffed me in the mailbox a rescue team? You called them Team Meanies, which confused me."

"You know, I'm not too sure," Smokey admitted, "they don't seem to be the type that would help other Pokémon because they want to make a difference. I'd guess that if they are a team, they're doing it for the money."

Joey made an indistinct sound in his throat and continued to follow Smokey along the narrow path. If he hadn't been observing his surroundings so carefully, he would have missed the fork in the road. Smokey picked the path to the left without even pausing to think or inform Joey of his decision. Joey's curiosity got the better of him again.

"What's down the other road?" Joey asked, stopping to inspect the opposite end of the fork.

"It's the longer way," Smokey answered briefly, not breaking his stride. When he looked back, he saw that Joey still hadn't moved, "what are you waiting for? Let's go."

Joey was giving him a weird stare, like he was searching for something that Smokey was hiding.

"This path seems to slant up once you get far enough," Joey said, still giving his friend an unnerving stare, "Parvo said we should be looking on _top_ of the cliff for Kabi. If this path leads higher, shouldn't we be taking it instead of the one you're on?"

"It's still the longer way," Smokey insisted, "that path has a massive bend in it that will go around the..."

His words died in his mouth and Joey pounced on his moment of hesitation.

"It takes us around the Scyther territory, doesn't it?" Joey asked, crossing his arms. Smokey didn't answer and he saw anger flash through his friend's eyes, "I knew it! You are deliberately leading us through there, and for what? An attempt at confronting Talia?"

Smokey bit his lip, not able to think of anything to say that would make this situation any better. He looked up at Joey to see that his anger had vanished, replaced by a sense of betrayal.

"Did anything I say to you yesterday matter?" Joey's voice was filled with hurt, "You can't just going throwing yourself into danger like this. Trust me when I say that I know what you're going through. Don't say that I don't know what you're going through, because I've experienced this _twice_."

"If you know what I'm going through then you should know that I have to get revenge," Smokey's voice was shakey. He dropped his gaze back to the floor, unable to maintain it with Joey, "it's the only way I can repay her."

His voice dropped to barely a whisper. Tears built up behind his eyes and he blinked to keep them at bay. The forest was silent. Not even the wind blew to ruffle the leaves. All he heard was a slow plodding that was coming towards him.

"I think you may've misunderstood what I was saying," Smokey looked back up to see that Joey had joined him, and he was wearing a slight grin on his face, "I know what you want to do and I'm going to help."

Smokey was confused. Joey hid it at first, but he could tell his friend was traumatized when he killed the Medimite by accident back on Mount Steel. Now he was talking freely about helping him avenge a friend that he barely knew.

"The thing that I couldn't stand about my father and friend being killed was the fact that the murderers were never caught," Joey read Smokey's look of confusion, "They never received punishment for their crimes. I never had the chance to right their wrongs, but you do. This Pokémon has been harming others who can hardly fight back and her spree has gone on long enough. So, I'm going to help you take her down, but we need to think about it sensibly, not just go rushing in."

"If you have a plan, I'm all ears," Smokey commented and crossed his arms while he waited for Joey to explain.

"Well, it's not really a plan. It's more of a list of what not to do unless we want to get decapitated," Joey began, "First, we take the safe route. We should focus on saving Kabi before trying to get revenge. Just because I'm helping you doesn't mean I'm going to put our problems ahead of saving someone's life. That's not the way I roll. Next, we don't go looking for her. She'll probably be with her clan, who won't hesitate to kill us if wander up on them. Also, no setting traps becau-"

"I'm going to stop you right now," Smokey interrupted. His flame had become twice its size and a thin trail of smoke formed from his nostrils, "you promised to help me kill her, but you're making a bunch of rules that would prevent us from doing that! "

"These rules are going to save our lives," Joey countered, his anger returning to him, "We barely made it out of our last encounter with her alive. We can't hunt her out. She's an experienced warrior; she'll be expecting some sort of trap. In fact, she set a trap for us that we walked right into!"

"If we don't try to attack, how will we win?" Smokey demanded, his anger causing more smoke to billow from his nose, "Going on defense will only delay the inevitable."

"Sometimes a good defence is the best offense," Joey said, a trace of a smile returning to his lips, "we make her think that she has all the cards, that she controls the game. In reality though, we know exactly what's going on. If we see her trap and walk away, she'll move onto the next one and just keep trying until she eventually kills us. But, if we take advantage of that trap and walk right into it, we have the element of surprise because she won't be expecting us to attack first."

Smokey opened his mouth to say something, but shut it as the plan sunk in. It was highly risky, yet brilliant. All they had to do was play dumb. There was one, major problem though.

"What if we don't time it right? What if Talia gets the draw on us and kills us before we can react?" Smokey asked. The plume of smoke had disappeared and his tail flame shrunk to half its size, so Joey could tell that his friend was no longer angry. The question he posed caused him to sink into thought once more.

"We'll have to test our luck then," Joey shrugged in defeat, not being able to come up with a solution, "also, let me do the talking in case we meet any Scyther. As long as I stay calm, I think I can stall them long enough for us to save ourselves."

"Well... it's not the greatest plan," Smokey sighed and began to walk in the opposite direction, towards the fork, "but it's the only one we've got."

Joey watched his friend walk past him. It didn't seem to take much to convince Smokey into almost a complete change of opinion. The Charmander stopped at the split in the road and waited for his friend.

"You coming or what?" he called out. Joey grinned and ran to catch up to his friend. Following the plan, they choose the safe path, that path that would hopefully lead to the best outcome.

"I think I like this Joey better," Smokey commented after they had been walking for some distance in silence.

"What're you talking about? I've always been like this," Joey inquired.

"Are you kidding me?" Smokey exclaimed, actually surprised by his friend's response, "You're the guy who runs into a fight with barely a thought about your opponent, yet you just made a plan within a minute that has a good chance of outsmarting a Scyther. I'm sorry if this offends you, but never in a hundred years would I have expected you to be the one that thinks on this team."

"Okay, that's just flat out wrong," Joey protested. Smokey stared down at his friend with an amused look which prompted the Pikachu to elaborate, "Yes, I do get into fights really easily, but you seem to be missing the times where I saved our lives by my quick thinking."

"Give me one example," Smokey challenged.

"Our first encounter with the Scyther, I told you to dig your claws into the dirt to ground yourself so you wouldn't get hurt from my attack. _And_ I shouted that out to you while having a blade against my neck. I think that counts as thinking a plan through."

"Okay, fine. You proved me wrong," Smokey laughed, suppressing the urge to have a fit. They fell into silence for the next few minutes before Smokey could no longer contain the urge to aggravate his friend further, "that doesn't mean that you haven't almost gotten us killed more times than you've saved us."

"Don't even get me started!" Joey yelled. The next half hour was filled by a back and forth argument between the two Pokémon. Their excited yells faded quickly, the dense foliage of the forest not allowing the sound to travel far. Every point was debated until one of them was awarded a dash on a mental tally.

Joey kept the fight alive as long as possible. It was a way of distracting him from what they were doing in the woods. The childish game hid the fact that they were looking for a lost Metapod in a massive forest with a real possibility that they would get assassinated. Other than that, it was comforting. Quarrelling with Smokey reminded him of the times he had with his friends, so while he would never have them again with his human friends, it was nice to know that he could make new ones with Smokey.

During their friendly squabble, they hardly noticed that the path they were on slowly shrunk into a trail and then into oblivion. The only affect the missing path had on them was that they had to dodge around trees to maintain the conversation.

"You seem to be missing the point," Smokey insisted, his breath running short from the workout the underbrush was giving him, "you tackled me into a fissure without knowing what was at the bottom. There could've been a pit of spikes at the base for all you could've known."

"It was either that or be diced by the Scyther," Joey shot back, "I've fallen into a crack before and I know that that fall isn't deadly. The chance was worth it."

"Yeah, but you did it during an earthquake," Smokey countered, "Even though we survived the fall, you almost got pulverized by a falling boulder. No matter what you say, you nearly killed us with that move."

"Whatever. You win this one," Joey said, resigning to the fact that he lost. He didn't bother trying to remember who was winning, for he lost count near the beginning. That didn't mean that he wasn't prepared to keep this going, "If you don't remember though, in Mount Steel you got possessed by the... by the..."

Joey's pace slowed to a stop at the same time his words did. The silence of the woods had been filled by him and Smokey, but now a new sound entered. The soft rustling of the leaves and the occasional snapped branch almost completely blocked out the faint echo he heard. However, almost isn't fully, and Joey could hear two other voices having an equally loud discussion not far away.

Smokey watched his friend with interest. The look of concentration on his face had become so immense in such short time. He stood on his hind legs, his back straight and his ears perked up. They swiveled slightly as they tried to pinpoint the direction of the voices. Smokey didn't have such sensitive hearing, so he had to rely on Joey to guide him. He locked eyes with the Pikachu and an unspoken understanding was communicated; he knew where to look.

Raising a finger to his lips, Joey signalled to remain quiet. He took the lead and searched through the dense shrubs to where he could make out the sound. The bushes rustled loudly and leaves crunched under their feet as they tried in vain to be silent. After a minute of attempting to be silent, Joey held up his closed fist for them to stop.

Smokey heard the voices now. While it was faint, he could make out two, distinctly male voices. He looked to Joey, wanting to know how close they were. Instead, he saw his friend halfway up a tree.

"What're you doing?" Smokey whispered, yet his voice remained harsh.

"I can't see where they are," Joey explained in a hushed tone, "we don't want to risk running into them. So I'm going to check out where they are and more importantly, who they are."

Joey scampered up the tree, leaving his fire breathing friend behind to wait. With agility that he was unaware he possessed, Joey leapt from tree to tree, following the source of the sound. He guessed that having a smaller body and less weight made him able to perform the task.

After a few minutes of jumping between branches, the two Pokémon he was searching for came into view. They passed right below his hiding place, completely oblivious to him. Joey determined that they were both Rattata, remembering their client from the accidental drug run. When he looked closer, his brain was overcome by surprise.

Not only were they the same species as the client, one of them _was_ the Rattata from before.

Joey knew they were not a threat now and that he could return to Smokey so they could continue the mission. However, his mind was reeling with this discovery. He tried to figure out why the Rattata would return to the forest, but thankfully, they supplied the answer for him.

"I heard the boss tried to enlist that Pikachu from the day before man," the one on the right told his friend.

"Those kids got the job done, man," said Joey's previous client, his accent giving him away, "it would be good to have them on board. Did he convince them?"

"Well, they ended up shoving the kid into a mailbox," his friend commented.

"Why? Did he say something to offend them?"

"He told him to shove the offer up his ass," the first replied and the accented one gasped in surprise.

"You're lying, man!" he exclaimed.

"Exact words," his friend chuckled, "I guess that's what you get for messing with Team Meanies," he said the name like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world. To Joey, it honestly was, "seriously, of all the names they choose that for a rescue team."

"I told you, man, they're not taking that gig seriously," Joey's attention spiked and kept low to hear more of the explanation, "the rescue team is, like, a guise, man. They're using it to cover their tracks, you know what I'm saying?"

Thankfully for Joey, the Rattata's friend was just as confused as him.

"Come on, man. It's like this. The boss is making a tonne of money of these shrooms, man, and someone might be suspicious as to where he's getting all of that dough. The rescue team justifies where all that money is coming from because teams make mad money, man."

"No one ever questions where the money comes from though. Why bother hiding it when no one will go out of the way to find out?"

Joey sent a silent prayer to whatever gods gave his former client such a dense friend. He was doing all the asking for Joey and the Pikachu was soaking up the information like a sponge.

"I have to explain everything to you, man," he complained to his dense friend, "selling drugs might be considered wrong to some Pokémon, so it'll only be a matter of time before an actual rescue team thinks to stop it. The boss is smart, man; he knows how to cover his tracks."

"Heh, if rescue teams make so much maybe we should become one," the dense Rattata chuckled, which earned him a slap to the back of the head by his friend.

"Don't kid yourself, man. You're too dumb to form one," he grumbled and the two powered on.

Joey grinned to himself. The boss appeared to be smart, but then again, he hired these idiots. He makes a well thought out plan only to have it blown open two loud mouths.

With the intent of discovering their location, Joey continued to follow the Rattata from above. The two moved quickly through the underbrush, but not fast enough that he ever lost sight of them. His eyes began to pick up more light and the number of branches in front of him was shrinking.

After a few more jumps, Joey landed on the last branch he could jump on. The lone Pikachu looked through a thin shroud of leaves and observed the clearing below. His stomach did a backflip as he was filled with disgust.

The clearing was full of Pokémon working behind a series of wooden tables. The workers were all Rattata, but one Pokémon that Joey didn't recognize was shouting orders out to the rodents. It was a levitating purple ball that looked like it had a smaller, grotesque version of itself attached to the side of its head. That was not the reason why Joey hated the scene.

At the tables, being sliced into small chunks, were mushrooms. Even from his perch in the trees, Joey could tell that they were the very same mushrooms that they retrieved from before. It all made sense now why the Rattata was in the middle of a forest with a bundle of drugs.

Sinister Woods was the processing area for the dealers.

Joey knew that if stayed for too long, he would be overcome with anger and attack without thinking. He knew that he would need Smokey for his next plan. Storing the area in his mind, he started on the route back to the place where he left his friend.

Smokey was munching on an apple when Joey returned. He was taken aback by his friend's behavior. The Pikachu's fur crackled with electricity and his face was livid. Something had seriously angered his friend, yet he was unable to think of anything because Joey was here instead of in a fight.

"What's wrong?" Smokey asked, taking the route with the safest possible question. Joey didn't even answer and Smokey repeated the question. Instead, his friend motioned to follow him. Smokey was annoyed by Joey's behaviour, but followed him anyways to avoid getting split up.

"Joey, stop ignoring the question!" Smokey yelled after minutes of tense silence, "Why are you so upset? What happened? Are we in danger? Were the Scyther looking for us? Answer me!"

"It wasn't the Scyther," Joey replied bitterly, "they were two Rattata."

"Why are Rattata making you so upset?" Smokey exclaimed, "I may not have known you for that long, but I know you well enough that something like this wouldn't bother you. This is more than just Rattata. I tell you everything you want to know, no matter how painful it is for me. So why can't you just tell me this?"

Joey stopped walking and took a deep breath. If Smokey had seen him from the front, he would have seen that the Pikachu's face was scrunched up in pain. Joey hated keeping secrets from his friend. He was already hiding two big ones from Smokey. His friend deserved to hear this one, at the very least. After a few agonizing seconds, Joey let out a long sigh.

"One of the Rattata was the same one who asked for our help on the last mission," Joey said, his voice low. He resumed walking, only this time at a slower pace, "I followed him and his friend to a clearing where there were a bunch more Pokémon. They were... they were slicing up mushrooms."

"I'm guessing the mushrooms were the ones that make you hallucinate?" Smokey asked, to which Joey confirmed with a wordless nod, "So what? Why are you angry that a guy we hardly know is in the drug business? It doesn't affect us."

"No, no... it isn't that," Joey sighed again, "look, Smokey, I hid this from you when I first found out about it. You weren't in the right state to be dealing with the truth. I still don't know how you would handle it if I told you."

"Are you going to tell me or what?" Smokey demanded harshly. Joey bit his lip. If Smokey wanted to know that badly, he would tell him.

"That client being in the drug trade does affect us. It already has affected us," Joey began, but found himself trailing off. He wondered if Smokey would react badly, "if it wasn't for the drug trade, our client wouldn't have lost a package containing a shipment. If it wasn't for the drug trade, he wouldn't have needed us to retrieve the lost package. If it wasn't for the drug trade..."

"... Daya would still be here," Smokey finished in a whisper. Joey turned his head slightly to see how his friend was doing. The Charmander's face was scrunched up slightly, like he was trying his best not to cry.

"Smokey, remember why we're here. We came here to save a kid from the forest, but we also agreed to get some payback," Joey said, picking his words carefully, "if you want to get some revenge, to hurt those that were responsible for us being in that clearing, then we should go back and get rid of that operation. I know it doesn't seem like it's the same thing, but we'll be helping others by doing this, not just ourselves. Then again, you're the leader of this team, so you get to make the choice. Whatever you say, I'll follow without complaints."

His proposition was greeted by silence from Smokey. The Charmander's eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as he made the choice. After what felt like hours to Joey, Smokey finally made a choice, "Okay. Let's go bust that operation!"

Joey smiled and led the way through the forest. Just as quickly as it came, his grin faded. He felt like a deceiving jerk. He was one. The choice he gave Smokey wasn't a choice. He cornered Smokey into choosing the option that he wanted. By making it seem like they were helping others, Joey appealed to Smokey's desire to help other Pokémon. Now Joey felt like he was manipulating his friend to get what he wanted, not what Smokey wanted.

Joey pushed those thoughts out of his head. _"Smokey has done the same thing to you," _Joey thought to himself, trying to justify his actions, _"Half the reason he wanted to start a team was for the money and he need your help to do so. This would be like a repayment. Yeah! If Smokey's been selfish once, why can't you?"_

His reasoning helped him, but the feeling that he was doing something wrong never left. There was no conversation as they trekked through the woods. Joey felt too guilty to start one.

Smokey noticed Joey's pace starting to become faster as they got closer to their destination. He put a hand on the Pikachu's shoulder to get his attention.

"Maybe you should slow down so we don't attract their attention," Smokey whispered, "the slower we go the less noise we make."

Joey nodded and slowed down.

The sounds of many Pokémon chattering started to get louder. Within minutes, the duo reached the clearing. The two friends dropped down on all fours and crawled to the edge of the trees, taking cover behind a large bush. From there, they spied on the workers.

Smokey looked over at Joey and saw that his friend was next to his tipping point. He could see the sparks travelling through the striped fur. The Pikachu was resisting the urge to jump into the fight with every fiber of his being. He admired his friend's level of self-control. If this was any other day, Smokey would have expected him to bolt into battle without a second thought.

"What're we going to do?" Joey asked suddenly. His voice was gruff and low, something Smokey never heard from his friend before. He was most likely suppressing his anger, but it seeped into his voice.

"Um... I thought you had the plan," Smokey answered honestly, "I mean... you saw them first. Didn't you think of any strategy to use?"

"I don't know anything about Pokémon!" Joey snapped, "You're the one that knows that stuff on this team. I couldn't think of a plan without you. Let's think of one now."

Smokey rolled his eyes in annoyance but complied. He scanned the workers. The Rattata were easy enough to identify and not all that hard to fight. The one that really bothered him was the Weezing.

Four feet tall and composed of two heads made it a Pokémon Smokey did not want to face. While its physical attacks were not that powerful due to its light weight, it contained a noxious gas that could disable a Pokémon within seconds if inhaled. If it was inhaled for enough time, it could be fatal. But the gas' poisonous properties were not the factor that concerned Smokey. It was the fact that the same gas was extremely flammable and the Weezing had enough of it stored within its two bodies to produce a powerful explosion. He relayed this information to Joey.

His face took on a thoughtful look. After a few seconds of consideration, he spoke, "Okay, so here's what we do. I'll get the Rattata's attention and draw them into one group. Don't worry about me; I'm good at hand to hand combat. If worse comes to worse, I'll just let loose an electric attack that will knock them all away. While I'm off fighting the rats, you get the floater. His fumes are explosive, so your fire will do the trick. Just make sure that when you do blow him up, you and I are far enough away from the blast so neither of us gets caught in it."

Smokey nodded and took off the bag to hide it in the bushes, "sounds good to me," he mumbled, "on three. Three... two... one... GO!"

Joey leapt out of the bushes on one, leaving Smokey a second behind. He jumped out, effectively ruining their dramatic entrance. The workers were all frozen, staring wide eyed at the intruders. Joey broke the tension.

"Who wants some?" he roared and charged the Rattata working at the tables, "Bring it! I'll take all of you on!"

He bolted off to the side, shouting insults as he went. The attention of all the Pokémon was drawn to him and they acted upon Joey's challenge. They swarmed him, including the Weezing.

"Oh no you don't," Smokey mumbled under his breath and lobbed a fireball at the poison type. It missed, like he planned, but succeeded in gaining the Pokémon's attention. It turned its ugly heads towards him.

"Do you wanna fight?" it asked in a low and slow voice.

"Of course!" Smokey exclaimed and threw his arms out in a wide stance, "Bring it on, you ugly puffball."

The Weezing sneered and charged the Charmander. Smokey evaded by rolling out of the way at the last second, causing his enemy to crash into one of the many tables. He stayed on all fours and was about to launch another fireball when he remembered that Weezing are highly explosive. He caught the fire right before it left his maw, resulting in a cloud of smoke that spewed from his mouth. The poison type was too close for him to use a fire attack. He backed up out of the smoke, wondering if he just created a smokescreen accidently. The Weezing seemed to have troubles finding him through the smoke.

Meanwhile, Joey was taking on challenger after challenger in a ring of Rattata. The dimwitted Pokémon kept rushing him one at a time and he had no problem taking them down. In fact, he was enjoying himself.

"Is that all you got?" Joey taunted, knocking out another normal type, "it's like you're not even trying! This is way too easy, put some effort into it!" he brought his knee up and plowed the next one in the face. It was knocked out and sent flying into the crowd, "This isn't even fun anymore. I'm just kicking the snot out of you. Come on, I'm getting bored with senselessly beating you all!"

He laughed as he bounced on the balls of his feet. His head whipped back and forth to make sure he wasn't going to get blindsided. His next challenger stepped into the ring, its face set in determination. It dropped down to all fours, keeping its weight on its hind legs for a quick strike.

"Looks like we got another challenger!" Joey yelled into the sky, "Let's see if you can last more than a minute."

Joey got into his fighting stance, bringing his arms up to prepare for a strike. Energy coursed through him. This battle was giving him an unparalleled rush of excitement. His confidence was at his peak, making him feel unstoppable and maybe slightly insane. However, it wavered when another Rattata joined its friend in the circle, the same look on its face.

"Okay. Two challengers now," Joey grinned, "this should be... fun..."

He trailed off when a third entered the ring. Then a fourth. And fifth. Joey twisted around and noticed that all the Pokémon surrounding him were entering a battle stance. They were all going to attack. His confidence disappeared, leaving room for fear. The Rattata were all snarling at him.

"This can't be good..." Joey mumbled and began to back up. He remembered that he was circled and he didn't have anywhere to back up to. Taking one last look around, he confirmed that there was no easy way out of this mess. He let out a defeated sigh.

"Well... This should be interesting," Joey muttered and then in a louder voice, "Alright, give me all you got! BRING IT!"

He held his ground for a few seconds, batting away the first few, but quickly succumbed to sheer numbers. Smokey watched from across the clearing as his friend got swamped in a wave of purple bodies.

Something big whizzed by him, missing him by a few inches. He could not afford to get distracted at this point. Joey would be fine. The Weezing was refusing to use any of his gas, knowing that it was flammable. It also kept as close as it could to Smokey, knowing that he would not risk blowing it up.

The Weezing continued to charge Smokey, and the Charmander could only avoid it. Smokey backed further into the work area, using the tables as cover. He was starting to get tired, even when he was using all his limbs to dodge. He had to end this, but he didn't want to risk an explosion killing him or Joey. From nowhere, his skin started to prickle, like a charge was passing through his body.

"_SHAZAM_ !"

Smokey turned to the shout just in time to see the purple mass of bodies that had covered Joey thrown away in a massive, yellow ball. At the center of the explosion stood the Pikachu, panting and covered with scratches, but fine none the less. Smokey cracked a smile to see that his friend was alright before getting knocked off his feet.

The distraction caused by Joey's attack was enough for the Weezing to finally land a hit. The tackle sent Smokey soaring through the air like a Pidgey. He hit the ground and his breath left him in a big _whoosh_.

"Ha-ha, I got you," the Weezing taunted, gliding over to where Smokey lay, "you shouldn't have messed with me."

It laughed some more and expelled a small cloud of poisonous gas by accident. It didn't notice and crept closer to the fallen fire-type. Smokey's tail flame grew in anger and smoke started to come from his nose. The poison-type noticed this and laughed harder.

"Go ahead. Launch your fire at me," the Weezing mock, tempting Smokey, "you know what happens. The blast will kill you, but I'll escape unharmed. Well... not unharmed. I'll still be alive though, and you won't."

It was right. One of the great mysteries about Weezing is that even when the gas explodes inside their bodies, they never die. They must release the pressure through the holes in their body to prevent themselves from exploding.

Smokey crawled backwards on his hands and feet. Once he put some distance between the other Pokémon, he flipped back onto his front and snarled. It was just a ruse, an attempt at intimidating the Pokémon. What was he going to do? He had no idea where Joey was, so the risk of hurting him if he exploded the Weezing was too high.

"Maybe I should just kill you and get this over with," the floating ball said. It appeared to like that idea and puffed itself up. Smokey recognized this as its preparation for unleashing its gas. He cringed and waited for the poisonous fumes to engulf him and light on fire. He hoped that Joey was at a safe distance.

"Not today, shmuck!"

Joey leapt from a nearby table and latched onto the Weezing's back. The purple Pokémon was startled and sent out more gas. Joey ignored the fumes and held on.

Smokey saw what happened next before it even started. Joey was in battle mode, causing him to lose his complete control over his powers. The Charmander noticed a tiny point of light appear in the fur on Joey's arm. His eyes followed it as it traced a path through the Pikachu's yellow coat and onto the red skin of its cheeks. Time seemed to slow as he watched a single spark fall off the Pokémon's body and into the aura of gas surrounding the Weezing.

The fumes ignited. A ball of fire expanded from the spark and quickly consumed the airborne poison. The rapid expansion from the flames resulted in a massive explosion in the shape of a fireball. The blast engulfed Smokey's entire body and he felt himself get launched into the air by the shock wave. He hit the ground and his vision went black.

...

A fire raged in one of the clearings of Sinister Woods. Half of the area within the lining of trees was covered in fire. A pained groan came from beneath a pile of charred wood within the blaze. The rubble shifted and a battered Pikachu sat up. It was covered in cuts and burns, its fur blackened by soot and tinged red from blood.

Joey groaned again. His whole body ached. It felt like he had been run over by a steamroller and then lit on fire. His eyes stung and watered from the smoke. He moved his right arm to clear his eyes, but yelped in pain when he did. A searing pain tore across his shoulder and spread throughout most of his back. Something wet trickled from his shoulder, and he had a feeling it was a fluid he preferred to keep inside of him.

He rubbed his eyes with his uninjured arm, smearing his face with even more soot. Blinking to clear any debris, he took in his surroundings...or, what was left of his surroundings.

All around him were walls of flame, fueled by the remnants of tables and grass. The heat bathed over him, heating his body to uncomfortable levels. The roar of the fire was deafening, blocking out nearly any other sound. One thing was still audible to Joey though. Someone hidden by the fire was calling for him.

"Smokey?" Joey yelled out, trying to project his voice in all directions, "Is that you?"

"Joey?" came his friend's reply. Even though he was muffled by the flames, Joey could hear that his friend was in pain, "Yeah, it's Smokey! I need your help now! My leg is caught under a table and I think it's broken!"

Joey mouthed a curse word. Smokey was pinned and it sounded like he was farther into the fire. He was going to have to travel through the flames to find his friend. With another yelp of pain, he struggled to his two hind feet, unable to go on all fours. He approached one of the walls of flame, but found the heat to be unbearable. There had to be a different way. He scanned the blaze, looking for a break in the walls, but found none.

He looked down to the grass and noticed something. The flames seemed to be found mostly where wood was. He searched the ground, looking for a part that was free of fire. After a minute, he saw a break and followed it.

It was like he was running down a corridor of flames. On both sides blazed huge walls of fire that threatened to fry him. The heat still made it feel like he was being cooked alive, but he figured that it was better than jumping through the flames themselves. The path changed directions many times, but Joey made it through.

He barreled into a more open space and took deep breath of fresher air. There were still flames, only they were in pockets along the grass and not in massive sheets like before. He looked back to where he came and marvelled at how huge the fire was. It was one of the biggest fires he had seen, and he had been at the centre of it. He shook off the shock and looked around for Smokey.

"Joey!" Smokey called out. The Pikachu spun around and found his friend. He was laying on the edge of the blaze. An overturned table was pinning his left leg, which stuck out at an awkward angle. He ran up to his friend.

"You got to push this thing off of me," Smokey grunted. He face was full of pain, "I can't do it myself. Not from this position."

Joey looked at the burning plank of wood. There was no way he could shift it. He would have to push it over and hope that Smokey would be free when it toppled. Only he would have to push it from the top, the part that was covered in flames.

"I don't think I can do this," Joey confessed, his eyes still locked on the burning hunk of wood, "I'm not strong enough to push this. Not by myself."

"You have to," Smokey groaned, "the heat is too strong. It's killing me!"

"You're a fire type! I thought you were supposed to be immune to fire!" Joey exclaimed, switching his view to Smokey in astonishment.

"That only means I'm resistant to fire," Smokey explained through clenched teeth, "fire still hurts me, just like electricity would hurt you."

Joey looked back to the burning wood. Smokey was in pain. He had to do this. He sighed and prepared to jump. His legs bent, waiting to release their pressure like a spring. _'Here goes nothing,' _Joey thought and he straightened his legs, launching himself at the table. His left shoulder connected with it and for a brief moment, there was no pain. The intense heat arrived soon and he felt he shoulder burning. The jolt from the impact rippled across his back and his injured shoulder sent out a fresh wave of pain.

The plan worked though. The force of the tackle knocked the table down and freed Smokey's leg. He crawled to safety as Joey landed in the embers of the fire. His friend howled in pain. Thankfully, he still had enough sense in him to get out of the fire quickly. Joey threw himself out of the fire and landed on the ground, panting hard from the exertion and pain.

"Thanks Joey," Smokey gasped and rolled over, "I don't think I could've taken much more of..."

His words died in his throat when he saw the rough shape his friend was in. Joey was covered in burns and his fur stained with blood from the multiple cuts. Those were not the injuries that made him falter though.

"Smokey? What's wrong?" Joey asked feebly. The Charmander's drop off did not go unnoticed. Smokey swallowed, feeling a lump forming in his throat. A large, wooden spike protruded from Joey's right shoulder. He tried to think of a way of telling him without freaking him out.

"You got... you got a... a thing... stuck in your back," Smokey said cautiously, watching Joey's reaction. Joey grimaced, like the simple thought of it was hurting him. He took a few deep breaths before responding.

"Is it supposed to be inside me?" he asked quietly, fearing the answer.

"What?"

"Is it supposed to be inside me?" Joey repeated before being forced to explain, "Is the thing sticking out of me supposed to be inside my body, like a bone, or does belong on the outside?"

Smokey took a moment to digest the question before answering.

"It's a shard of wood," he told Joey simply. To his surprise, the Pikachu sighed in relief.

"Oh, man, I was scared there for a second," he said with a small laugh, "I thought one of my bones broke and split the skin. That's a relief!"

"This is still bad!" Smokey exclaimed, perplexed at his friend's reaction, "you got a piece of wood sticking out of your back! How is this, in any way, good?"

"I didn't say it was good. I'm just relieved that it's not as a bad as I thought," Joey explained, a grin stuck to his face, "we can just yank this thing out and I'll be okay. Speaking of which..." Joey stood on a pair of shaky legs and plopped down next to Smokey, "... I'm gonna need you to take it out."

"Are you serious?" Smokey demanded, scrambling away from Joey using his hands, his broken leg dragging through the grass.

"Yeah, just grab it and tug it out," Joey insisted, "really, it isn't that hard to do."

"Okay...' Smokey mumbled and adjusted his body so he could grab the wooden spike. When he found a solid grip, he heaved. Joey cried out in pain.

"Sorry!" Smokey apologized, releasing his grip on the spike which was still firmly lodged in Joey's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Feel like a million bucks," Joey gasped. His face was a pale yellow, "you gotta tug harder. Don't resist. It'll only hurt more."

"Are you sure?" Smokey asked, taking the spike once more in his hands.

"Positive," Joey wheezed, "put as much force as possible and it should come right out. It'll hurt like holy hell, but I'll feel a lot better. Just make sure you don't tell me when you do it because that will make it much more pa- AAAAAARRRRGGG!"

While Joey was still talking, Smokey pulled with all his might. With a horrible _shlick_, the spike came free. The jagged end was covered in blood that extended up the shaft for three inches. It had been buried deep in Joey's shoulder.

The Pikachu was laying on the ground, panting hard. There was barely any colour left in sweaty face. His eyes bulged in a wide open stare, his mouth hanging open slightly while he struggled to breathe.

"That... that worked," he panted. Blood oozed from the open wound, "one of the worst things I've felt, but it worked."

Joey stood up and rotated his injured shoulder. He winced while performing the motion, but was otherwise fine.

"How badly does it hurt?" Smokey inquired, noticing his friend's discomfort.

"It's bearable," Joey responded, still moving his arm, "before I couldn't move it at all without feeling like I got stabbed... heh... maybe that's why it hurt so much."

"You know what else hurts? My leg," Smokey reminded him, pointing to his disfigured leg. It was bent below the knee in a definite break. It was Joey's turn to help. He knelt down by Smokey's waist and grabbed two different sides of the break.

"What are you doing?" Smokey questioned, eying Joey with suspicion.

"I'm going to set bone back in place. Then I'll get you an Oran berry to accelerate the healing process," he explained and then noticed the look in Smokey's face, "and yes. It will hurt _a lot_."

"You better not be trying to get back at me for the spike," Smokey grumbled and rolled onto his stomach to give Joey a better position.

"Come on, I'm not that childish," Joey grinned, "you ready?"

Smokey gave him the signal and gritted his teeth for the horrible pain. Only, it never came. After a minute of suspense, he finally looked back at Joey to see what was talking so long. He was not expecting to see his friend squinting into the forest.

"Joey...? What are you doing?" Smokey asked his friend, scared at what he was doing.

Joey did not hear Smokey's question. His mind was entirely focussed on the tree line. For there, sitting in the branches, was a lone Scyther.

It was in plain sight. The spot it chose was visible to even the least attentive Pokémon. Yet it just sat there, staring at the duo. The sight was unnerving to Joey. Why was it exposing itself like that? Scyther were supposed to be assassins, always staying hidden. Something else bothered him about this Scyther.

At first, he thought it was Talia. It seemed like something she would do, hunting them down in the forest and spying at them from the trees. Then again, she was still revealing herself. It wasn't right. Then he realized who it was.

It was the leader of the clan they fought. Joey didn't know he recognized the difference between the two; he just knew. Its face was devoid of emotion. Why would the leader be spying on them? Why was he alone? Through the haze, he saw a faint glimmer in the edge of his eyes. He followed it to another tree.

Joey's body went rigid from shock. His eyes became saucers, his blood went cold and he tightened his grip on Smokey's broken leg. He had been so focussed on it, the thought of checking other areas for danger never occurred to him. Now he regretted it.

The leader was not alone. Another Scyther was hidden in a different tree nearby. The only way he knew it was there was because the light from the fire made its eyes shine. Joey scanned the rest of the tree line, and a sense of dread filled him.

There was the same telltale glint from a dozen other trees. The leader had brought his whole clan. Joey did not know if they were there from the start or if they came while he was distracted with the visible leader. All that did not matter anymore.

Joey and Smokey were surrounded. There was no place to run. The rescue badge was hidden in the bushes with their bag, but Joey was unable to tell where it was.

"Joey!" Smokey shouted and Joey brought his attention back to the injured Charmander, "What are you looking at? In case you forgot, my leg is still broken!"

Joey took another look at the Scyther in the tree. It had not moved a muscle since he first saw it. He licked his dry lips to moisten them before speaking.

"There's a Scyther watching us," Joey whispered so it was barely audible over the fire. Smoke's head instantly whipped to the place Joey was staring at. He gave a groan when he saw it, "I don't know how long it has been watching us for. All I know is that there are more of them. Don't look for them!" he added that part quickly because Smokey's head was beginning to move, "We don't want them to know that we know they're here. Now, what I want to know is why they are here."

"They were probably looking for us, planning to hunt us down," Smokey whimpered, "Do you think it's possible that they heard our plans?"

"Maybe, but if they wanted to kill us, why haven't they done it already?" Joey posed, "nothing is stopping them. We're injured, tired and have no way of escaping. They couldn't ask for a better chance."

"They're afraid of the fire," Smokey offered, "we still have some fight in us. They don't want to risk getting knocked into the flames."

"Yeah, I guess..." Joey searched his mind for a way out. He could ask Smokey where the bag was and run for it, but the Scyther would catch him before he could get back. If he did get the bag, he could just use the badge on himself and teleport out of there. Joey knew he that was not an option. He couldn't leave Smokey here to die. His gaze drifted to the Scyther again.

"What are we going to do?" Smokey whined.

Joey was locked in another staring match with the leader. A thought drifted into the front of his mind. A plan that would require him to do something that he rarely ever did.

"Don't worry," he told Smokey. He quickly snapped his friend's leg back into place. The Charmander howled in pain, causing Joey to wince at having to inflict pain on a friend, "I think I got a plan..."


	20. Empty Threats

Smokey must have blacked when Joey snapped his leg back into place. The pain from his broken bone hurt so much, it would not have been surprising if it was the pain alone that made him lose consciousness. How it happened was not important to Smokey. One second he was awake with Joey next to him and the next he was waking up and his friend was halfway across the clearing.

"Joey! Where are you going?" Smokey yelled out to the Pikachu. His voice was clear through the roar of the surrounding fire, but Joey did not respond. If his leg was healthy he would have tackled Joey to prevent him from doing something really stupid. All he could do now was watch helplessly from the sidelines and hope that his friend knew what he was doing.

Joey actually had no idea what he was doing. Well, he had a vague idea of what he was trying to do, but he the chances of it working was slim. His knowledge of the Scyther was limited, but they seemed to be warriors and he had mixed feelings to how the leader would react. He cleared the last pocket of fire in the clearing and came to a stop beneath the leader's tree. The Scyther's body had not moved at all, its limbs in the same position. The only indication that it wasn't a statue was that its head had tilted down slightly to keep Joey in sight.

"You know, I might not know much about Scyther, but I could've sworn that your kind were supposed to be like assassins," Joey called up to the tree. The leader had no reaction, its eyes devoid of any emotion. The stare was unnerving to Joey, but he continued, "last time I checked, assassins made sure they weren't seen by anyone, so that gets me wondering why you're here. One reason might be that your sense of disguise is slipping in your old age..."

A flash of anger was seen for a moment in the old Scyther's eyes. Joey grinned slightly, seeing that he had gotten some response from the warrior.

"... Then again, I'm not that stupid to think that," he continued, "someone like you wouldn't just forget how to do something that he been doing for his whole life. There must be a reason of why you're showing yourself to me. My friend and I both have attacks that can reduce you to ash. I could strike you from the branch right now if I wanted to. But I know that you have something else planned. You wouldn't come here alone, that wouldn't make sense. So you brought your clan mates and told them to hide in the trees."

The Scyther shifted on his perch. It glared down at the Pikachu.

"So why are you here?" Joey demanded. His voice was weary and he just wanted to get this over with, "Are you here to kill us? If you're not, we'll leave and get on with our lives. If you are, then I got a proposition for you."

Finally, the leader spoke. "You have my attention," it said.

'_About time,'_ Joey wanted to say, but resisted the urge.

"A fight," he said simply, "me against you. We don't get any help from our teammates and all attacks are allowed. If I win, then you let me and my friend leave unharmed."

Joey was staring intently at the leader when it suddenly vanished. It was there one second and in the blink of an eye, disappeared. He barely had time to worry where it went when it landed less than a meter away from him.

"And if you lose?" it asked.

Joey felt a lump forming in his throat.

"Then my friend leaves," Joey said, keeping his voice steady, "and you get to kill me."

"Why does your friend leave even when you lose?" he observed coldly, "After you are disposed of, what makes you think that we will not kill your friend also?"

"Uh..." that was all Joey could come up with. He really did not think this plan through that well.

"What makes you think we want to kill you?" the Scyther continued. That question really confused Joey. He responded with a blank look, not sure if he was being serious or not. After a while of staring though, Joey realized it was serious.

"Last time we met, you did order your clan to kill me, unless I somehow managed to misinterpret that also," Joey said slowly. He immediately felt like an idiot for saying that. Maybe they had forgotten about their past disagreement. Then again, he remembered someone telling him that Scyther had a tendency to hold onto grudges.

"That is correct, we did try to kill you," the Scyther said with a light chuckle, "but you also did us a favour, so it seems fit that we spare your life."

Joey still had a blank look on his face, having no idea of what was going on. The leader noticed this and explained in further detail.

"We have been meaning to dispose of this operation for a long time now, for it has tainted our home for far too long. When we finally organized the best possible plan of action and arrived here, you and Smokey were already finishing the battle for us. We witnessed the explosion from the Weezing shortly after landing. Scyther are a proud race; we will hold onto grudges until the day we die and will do the same for favours. You have done us a favour by taking care of drug runners and we see that we can repay you by sparing your lives."

It took a couple seconds for this information to sink in. "So... you're not going to kill me?" Joey asked slowly.

"Precisely," the leader confirmed.

"Cool. I'm not going to die today," Joey said, his old grin returning to his face, "well, at least not here."

He started to turn away to go back to Smokey when the leader stopped him by resting one of his blades across his shoulder.

"I still want that fight, even though I am not planning on killing you," he said, a slight smile on his face. Joey chuckled weakly, suspecting that this was a joke.

"Yeah... I don't think that's going to happen," Joey told the old warrior. The leader's faint smile disappeared.

"I spared your life. The least you can do is spar with me," it said, his piercing glare set on Joey.

"I never actually planned on fighting you," Joey admitted, "When I set that challenge, I made it so that no matter what, Smokey would live. I wasn't planning on winning. I can barely stand right now and..." Joey twisted his back so the gaping wound in his shoulder was visible, "... with this hole in back, I doubt I'd last long."

"It is clear that you are very loyal to your friends," the Scyther observed, "That is a noble trait. However, you must learn to cut those ties when your own life is at stake and focus on your survival instead of the survival of others. I fear that if you do not, it will lead to your death."

"Why would I join a rescue team if I wasn't willing to risk my life for others?" that question left the leader stumped, and it did not respond. It just nodded and turned to walk away but stopped after walking a few steps.

"I trust that you will assist in the clean up?" it asked, turning back to the Pikachu, "us Scyther do not fare well against fire."

Joey was confused for a second before the roar of fire reminded him of the giant bonfire behind him. "Yeah, sure, we'll help. It's the least we can do."

The leader nodded and resumed walking away. Joey called out to him. "What's your name anyways?" it turned back to him with a questioning look, "just wondering..."

"Gladios," it said and disappeared in a blur. Joey stared at the spot for a few seconds before returning to Smokey. His friend was staring at him in disbelief.

"How did you manage to do that?" Smokey asked when he was in talking distance, "They wanted to kill us, didn't they?"

"I'm still confused on the details myself," Joey admitted, shrugging his left shoulder. He sat down on the ground, half collapsing onto the burned grass, "Apparently, by blowing this place up, we did them a favour, and favours cancel out grudges. Well, at least that's how he explained it."

"Scyther laws are really weird," Smokey commented.

"Tell me about it. This thing started because I shot lightning everywhere. They considered that to be something that's punishable by death. I was just trying to defend myself from having my neck slit. It's not like we knew they wanted to spar, they just kinda assumed it. Maybe they thought that using special attacks against them was like cheating... hell, I don't know. I guess we should be glad that they decided not to kill us, right?"

"Yeah..." Smokey mumbled, accepting the turn of events. His face then took on a thoughtful look, "Just out of curiosity, what was your plan? I know you think things through when you can, but I doubt that you knew what Gladios' intentions were when you approached him."

"Are you sure you want to know?" Joey asked, his tone cautious. Smokey nodded and he continued with a light sigh, "I was planning on challenging him to a fight. If I beat him, both of us left. If he won, you left, but I died. And if I couldn't convince him, I was going to beg for our lives and try to get you out alive at the very least."

Smokey was silent for a while. When he did respond, Joey did not expect the anger in his friend's voice.

"Your whole plan revolved around you killing yourself!" he yelled, causing Joey to flinch, "Why would you do that?"

"I wanted to make sure at least one of us got out alive!" Joey explained, hurt by his friend's reaction. He thought Smokey would be thankful, not angry, "I thought that you had the best chance of getting out because the Scyther's hate was more to me than to you."

"You are an idiot," Smokey fumed, "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if you had killed yourself to save me."

"Hey, at least it didn't have to come to that," Joey said with a weak chuckle, "I'm glad it didn't come to that. I never had to beg for anything in my life and I sure didn't want to die on my knees begging for mercy. That would've been an embarrassing way to go."

The two friends went quiet for a while, allowing the fire to fill the silence. Smokey took another glance at Joey once more to see that he had a look of misery on his face. He didn't know why the Pikachu looked so depressed and he wanted to figure it out. When he tried to shift his body into a more comfortable position to talk, pain flared in his broken leg and caused him to flinch in pain.

"Oh, right, you still got a broken leg," Joey muttered, noticing Smokey's reaction, "I'll get the bag since you can't walk," he got up and an embarrassed look crossed his face, "uh... where did you put it again? I kinda forgot where it was..."

Before Smokey could answer, the familiar blue bag dropped down next to them with a muffled _thud_.

"Well, that's convenient," Joey mumbled and looked up to see who brought it over. He only caught a brief glance at the face of the Scyther, but he still knew who it was, "thanks for bringing the bag over, Tabak."

Tabak didn't respond to Joey's thank you and continued to walk away. The Pikachu wasn't bothered by it and dragged the bag closer to him so he could rummage through its contents. After a few seconds of searching, he pulled out two Oran berries and tossed one to Smokey, who ate greedily. Joey did the same and was welcomed by the explosion of taste from blue fruit. As soon as he swallowed the juice, he felt the pain in his back start to diminish and an odd sensation spread through the wound. He looked over at Smokey, who was staring wide-eyed at the Pikachu's back.

"The hole in your back is stitching up on its own," Smokey told him, seemingly reading Joey's mind. Joey was unable to see what was happening because the wound was in an area he couldn't see. He had to take Smokey's word though, and after a few minutes, it felt like his back was mostly whole again. He checked the rest of his body and found that the cuts and burns he also sustained were healing too. There was still pain in his back, only less intense, and the freshly healed muscle felt loose.

"I can't tell if it's healed or not," Joey said, turning his back to Smokey, "is it all good?"

"The hole is closed, if that's what you're asking," Smokey confirmed.

"Awesome. How's the leg?"

"I think it's good," Smokey stood up unsteadily and put his weight on the injured leg. He winced a little, "it still hurts a bit, but I can manage."

"Good, now we can help the Scyther clean up this mess," Joey said, staring at the flames with disdain, as they had not died down at all. He was about to ask Smokey what they had to do when he saw one of the bugs kick a flaming piece of wreckage into the bigger blaze.

"That seems simple enough," Smokey remarked, also noticing the Scyther's actions. Joey nodded in agreement and Team Spartan started their part of the clean up.

The next two hours consisted of intense heat and many encounters with nearly falling into the massive fire. Smokey, being a Charmander, was suited for this line of work. While Joey had worked in extreme heat before, he was never close to flames this size. More than once did a stray ember result in scorching his fur. It made sense why the Scyther needed help with moving the fire. Their bodies were extremely flammable and if they were exposed to too much heat for even a few seconds, an entire limb could catch fire.

Only one patch remained free of the central fire. Team Spartan and three of the Scyther stood around it, trying to decide what to do. The small blaze was composed of a few pieces of burning wood and one massive, four foot slab, which was most likely part of a table at one point. Half of it was poking out of the fire and the flames were slowly working their way up the unburned part.

"The Scyther should be the ones who remove the smaller pieces of wood," Stiletta, one of the bugs, suggested, "Team Spartan shall remove the biggest chunk, since they have a resistance to fire."

"I don't," Joey reminded her, "fire still burns me and, if you somehow managed to miss it, that large chunk you're speaking of is twice our size."

"Our armour is unable to cope with intense heat," Stiletta shot back, "if we were to carry it, we would catch on fire. You two do not have that disadvantage."

"Funny how the mighty Scyther can be defeated by a bit of fire," Joey remarked snidely. He noticed the glares from the green Pokémon and rolled his eyes, "it was supposed to be a joke, okay? Me and Smokey will deal with the giant, burning hunk of wood if that pleases you."

Smokey shook his head, a smile on his face from Joey's comment. Without a word, he stepped into the fire and picked up the burning half of wooden slab while Joey grabbed the other side. The two lifted the plank off the ground with a strained grunt and manoeuvred it out of the fire. They hobbled awkwardly, the weight making it hard for them to walk. Smokey carried his side lower than Joey, causing the flames to travel up the length of the board.

"Smokey, you're the taller one," Joey said through clenched teeth, "lift your end higher. The fire is making its way onto my side."

The Charmander grinned mischievously and crouched down. The change in height made tongues of flame start to lick Joey's face. His friend started to swear like mad as the flames crept closer to him and only stopped when Smokey lifted the plank high above his head. After some mumbled curses, the two stopped in front of the blaze and began to swing the wood. They released it at the same time and sent the plank soaring into the middle of the fire.

"You're an asshole," Joey grumbled, still upset about the fire in his face thing. To his displeasure, Smokey started to laugh loudly, so Joey silenced him by poking him in the ribs. The static charge that was caught in his fur transferred through Smokey's body, giving the fire type a large shock which effectively silenced him. Gladios interrupted them before a scrap broke out between the two.

"I believe that you will return back home now that you have completed your mission?" he inquired, his scythes crossed.

"Uh... no. This wasn't our mission," Joey admitted, scratching the back of him head, "we kinda got sidetracked when we heard of what was going on," he paused for a second, and his face took on a dismayed look. He turned to Smokey, "Aw crap! I forgot about Kabi!"

"Damn, me too," Smokey muttered, his face reddening from embarrassment, "how did we manage to forget about her?"

"Life threatening circumstances will do that to you. Do you even remember which way we were going?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but who is this Kabi person you speak of?" the leader asked. Joey turned back to the Scyther.

"Before we came here we were looking for a Metapod that got lost," he explained, "There's a problem though; the leaders of this operation are also looking for her so they can get an award for her rescue. I have a feeling they're just doing it out of spite because I pissed them off earlier, but either way, we need to get to the waterfall before they do."

"Do any of you know where it is?" Smokey asked once Joey finished. As one, the Scyther clan all pointed in the same direction, "okay. Thanks. I guess we'll be on our way then."

Joey and Smokey began in the direction of the Scyther's blades. Gladios' voice called out and stopped them before they could exit the clearing.

"Just so you know, Joey, I still want that fight you promised," he quickly continued before Joey could protest that he was in no condition to spar, "next time you enter this forest, be prepared for a battle with me and when it does happen, make sure you are in a healthy state. I will not wait again for you to be in peak performance."

"I'll keep that in mind," Joey promised and headed into the forest. They made sure that their backs were to the bonfire so they could keep the general direction.

"This completely unrelated to what Gladios said," Joey began once the clearing was out of sight, "but I think that we should just avoid coming back here ever again because we seem to have a lot of trouble navigating through these woods. I mean, we can get lost or attacked. It's not worth the risk, right?"

"Stop making excuses," Smokey said, seeing right through his friend, "you just don't want to fight Gladios."

"I did not say that! Those are perfectly valid reasons why we should not come back here and you didn't even listen to them."

"I didn't know that being a wuss was a valid reason to avoid Sinister Woods."

"I'm not a wuss. I just don't want to be maimed by those blades," Joey shuddered at the thought, "anyways, it's not like you're too keen on fighting him."

"Not my fight to fight."

Joey groaned and rolled his eyes. He hated when Smokey screwed with him; that was his role. A few minutes passed with the only sound coming from their bodies trampling the undergrowth.

"Hey, before the explosion, why was there smoke?" Joey asked his friend, "there wasn't any fire yet. Did you make it?"

"You saw that?" Smokey asked back. He looked back on the fight in his mind, "I could've sworn you were buried under a pile of Rattata."

"Yeah, I didn't see how it got there. I'm just assuming that you made it because massive clouds of smoke don't spontaneously appear from thin air."

"You're right. That was me who made the cloud. I choked on a fireball which made all that smoke when I was battling the Weezing."

"You think you can make another one?" Smokey gave the Pikachu a questioning look, so Joey explained, "If you can create another one, we can use it in a different battle to block us from view. Sure, we can't see them, but our opponents can't see us either."

Smokey nodded, considering his friend's suggestion. He decided that it would be an effective strategy if he learned how to make another smokescreen. The familiar heat rose in his throat as he prepared a fireball. He launched it out of his mouth, but closed his jaws at the last second, causing it to slam into the back of his teeth. The result was a large, thick cloud of smoke that spewed from his mouth and nose.

"That worked," Joey said, somewhere on Smokey's right side. He looked around for his friend only to find that his vision was almost completely obscured by the black cloud, "Hey, follow my voice so we can see each other!"

The Charmander did as his friend said and was soon clear of the smoke. He looked back at it and found it impossible to see through to the other side.

"I'm not going to lie, but that's pretty damn impressive," Joey said and gave Smokey a pat on the back, "now, stop admiring your work and let's go. We still got a long way to go before we hit the waterfall."

They resumed their march through the forest and it did not take long for the silence to broken by yet another question from Joey.

"Why can you only spit out fireballs? Isn't there a way to turn yourself into a living flamethrower?"

"Um... I don't know. I never tried, I guess," Smokey responded, thinking back to why he never tried it, "Charmander can't learn Flamethrower until they evolve into a Charmeleon. Or so I've been told."

"How do you evolve then? Does it take a long time?" Joey forgot that he was supposed to know this information and only remembered until after he asked. He cursed himself silently for the stupid mistake, but Smokey didn't seem to notice.

"No, evolution happens all at once for Pokémon," Smokey said, "it happens either from battle experience, age or an elemental stone and really depends on what species you are. Charmander normally need to be a few years old and have some battle experience to evolve."

"So, how old are you then? I mean, it should really only be a matter of age at this point considering how much we've fought together over the past week."

"I don't know exactly how old I am. Day to day survival has been my main goal for a while now. The years have passed by in a blur."

"Well, we know you're at least four years old," Joey started, bringing up past conversations, "you told me yourself that your dad left you when your mom was taken four years ago. Plus you had some time before that happened. Age shouldn't be the problem, and neither should experience, so what's holding you back?"

"I don't know," Smokey replied. This conversation was starting to depress him, making him feel inadequate for not evolving sooner.

"Maybe you don't have to be a Charmeleon to learn Flamethrower," Joey continued, not noticing his friend's agitation, "you might just have to be old enough to learn the attack. Like, your anus learned it, why can't you do the same thing with your mouth?"

"Can you stop reminding me about that!" Smokey yelled. The classic stream of smoke that came from his nostrils was all Joey needed to know that he angered his friend. Then a thought struck him. Where there is smoke, there is fire. With that knowledge, a plan quickly formed in Joey's mind.

"No, because it's true!" he countered, putting his plan into motion, "We only beat Skarmory because you shot flames from your ass, and that was the only thing you did. _I_ fought the Zigzagoon to get us through the mountain and as soon as we stepped outside, it was _you_ who the Meditite took control and Buzz had to fight for our lives because you can't resist a little mind control. You were _useless_ on Mount Steel!"

"You cannot blame all that stuff on me! I do just as much work as you on this team!" Smokey roared. The flame on his tail was almost the same size as him and more smoke poured from the Charmander's nose than Joey had ever seen before.

"You just drag this team down!" Joey yelled, raising his own voice to match Smokey's, "in every fight we fought, I had to win it for us while you sat there too useless to do anything. You were useless against the Geodude, useless against the Voltorb and you couldn't do jack against the Scyther, even though you have a type advantage over them!"

"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW THAT ISN'T TRUE!"

"But it is! If you knew how to fight, we wouldn't have gotten into any of those messes! If you knew how to use Flamethrower, maybe Daya would still be alive!"

"It was not _my_ fault!" Smokey's tail flame doubled in size, surpassing the Charmander's head by a foot, "Talia was the one who killed her and I'm going to do the same if I ever get my claws on that Scyther!"

"You can't beat her because you don't even know how to do the one thing your kind is known for! The only Flamethrower you can use is from your asshole!"

"I don't need that to kill her!"

"Well I hope you're right because she's been watching us this entire time," Joey said that in a much calmer tone while pointing to a spot just behind Smokey. He had to leap out of the way of the Charmander's massive tail flame as he turned around to face Talia.

Without any hesitation or time to look, Smokey unleashed an enormous jet of flame from his mouth. Joey watched it in awe as the fire pulverized the spot he pointed at. The spectacle lasted only for a couple seconds, but it was still impressive. When the fire cleared, the only thing left was a large rock that glowed red and some ash, which were the charred remains of the grass. There was no sign of any Scyther corpse.

"Where is she?" Smokey demanded. His head whipped back and forth, trying to find his foe, "Where did she go? Did I fry her?"

"She was never there," Joey replied with a nervous laugh. His plan to get Smokey angry worked a little too well and it took a while to get over the shock that he hadn't even caused a fire. The intense flames must have destroyed anything that was flammable.

"What do you mean, 'she was never there'?" Smokey rounded on Joey. The Pikachu took a step back to give him some space between the still very pissed off Charmander.

"She was never there," Joey repeated, unable to keep the grin off his face any longer, "I lied to get you to use Flamethrower, which clearly worked. Quite effectively I might add."

"You... you lied to me?" Smokey said, his rage filled mind coming to an understanding very slowly. Joey nodded, "And all the stuff you said about me?"

"Also a lie. I was just saying that stuff so you'd get angry."

While Smokey was digesting this information, Joey saw a few leaves in the tree above rustle in the corner of his eye. This normal occurrence should not have bothered him, but something seemed wrong. He tried to figure out why leaves moving in the wind would upset him and arrived at the answer quickly.

It bothered him because there was no wind. The air was still.

"That is not cool," Smokey finally said, interrupting Joey's thoughts, "you cannot toy with my emotions like that, okay? I know you meant well and all, but I am not okay with you putting me through that. Even if the things you said were not true, it still hurt to hear them. I don't want you..."

Joey didn't hear the rest of Smokey's rant after that. His mind slipped back into a different focus as he tried to listen for any other sounds. He strained his ears to pick up something other than Smokey's continuous talking. There was a faint noise in the background that he could barely hear.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Smokey grabbed Joey by the shoulders, knocking his friend back into reality, "This is serious. You can't just zone out like that!"

"Shut up for a moment," Joey mumbled and went back to searching for the sound after shrugging out of his friend's grip.

"No! I will not shut up," Smokey shouted, "We have to talk about this-"

"Dude, shut up!" Joey exclaimed. His outburst effectively silenced the Charmander, "I thought I heard something, so just be quiet for a minute."

Smokey wasn't happy about it, but obliged and didn't say anything else which gave Joey the silence he needed. He closed his eyes and his ears perked up to search for the sound. It only took a few seconds for him to find it again. The sound remained the same; a dull roar, its volume muffled by the foliage.

Joey's eyes shot open. "The waterfall!" he cried and turned tail, sprinting towards the sound. Smokey had no other option but to follow his friend in a blind hope that he was right. They bounded through the underbrush, both Pokémon running on all fours. A dull roar was becoming more apparent to Smokey the longer they ran. The gap between them grew gradually larger as Joey was faster than the Charmander. Smokey soon lost sight of his friend in the thick brush and was following solely by the loud crashes Joey was making.

"Awwwwwww... damnit!" he heard Joey curse loudly. It wasn't long before Smokey joined his friend and found out what was wrong.

He crashed through the final bit of underbrush and onto a riverbank. The dull roar of before was much louder here and unmistakably a waterfall. In front of him, the river extended about twenty metres across and to an unknown depth. It became wider the farther left it went until it opened into a large basin. Smokey followed the river and copied Joey's frustrated groan.

Next to them was the waterfall they were looking for, pouring over a giant cliff. However, they were looking up at the torrent of water, rather than watching it flow before hitting the drop off. Parvo said that he last saw Kabi at the top of the waterfall. They had succeeded in finding their mission goal, only they were about a hundred feet below it.

"We're gonna have to climb this thing, aren't we?" Joey asked, already knowing the answer. Smokey gave a small nod, "Dammit..."

The two friends approached the rock face and craned their necks upward. The sheer distance they had to overcome was intimidating enough, but the cliff decided to make it worse by making them have to climb nearly upside-down for most of it. Nature also decided the best form of reassurance was to place a nice pile of jagged rocks at base, just in case they fell.

Joey glanced at Smokey and saw that his friend had a look of dread that mirrored his feelings. "This is going to suck _so_ hard," he muttered before placing his hand on the first hold he could find and pulling himself up a few inches.

'_One down, only a thousand left to go...'_ he thought as Smokey joined him on their ascent.


	21. Stabbed in the Back

An hour later, a grubby, yellow hand gripped onto the grass that lined the edge of the cliff. Once it found a solid hold, a similar hand joined it. Soon, the body of a Pikachu slowly heaved its way onto solid ground. It didn't stop to rest after its climb and instead, reached back over the drop and helped a similarly fatigued Charmander up. They both collapsed onto the ground, panting, their energy drained from the ordeal.

The cliff was only about a hundred feet, but to Joey, it felt like he climbed a mountain. He was proud that he managed to climb the entire thing, especially since the rock lacked rest stops. A loud rumbling came from his stomach to remind him how hungry he was. He rolled over and was to face Smokey, who must have been much more tired than he was because the fire type had to carry the bag up with him.

"Yo, Smokey," he said weakly, gaining his friend's attention, "Can you pass an apple? I'm starved."

Smokey nodded and removed the bag from his back. He opened it and took out two shiny apples and handed one to Joey. They both started to devour the fruit, desperate to satisfy their greedy bellies. Joey was good at dealing with hunger, but he practically inhaled the food. He didn't normally scale a cliff on an empty stomach and his body was not letting him forget that.

After they were done with their quick snack and regained some energy, they took a more detailed look at their surroundings. Sure enough, the river was to their left, widening before it hit the overhang and forming the waterfall. The sandy riverbank curved sharply up to meet the grass. The trees stood farther back from the river up top than at the bottom of the cliff, leaving two strips of grass about ten metres wide on both sides of the river.

They decided to try and find Kabi, since they finally scaled the rock face. Leaving the bag by the cliff, they started their search. It only took a couple minutes of walking along the river to notice something on the other side. A green cocoon was hanging by a silvery thread from one of the trees. It was slowly spinning and soon came to face them. The Pokémon was indeed a Metapod. They expected her to cry out in joy, but there was no reaction.

"That has to be Kabi," Joey muttered, "the location fits. That has to be her."

Smokey agreed, but was soon struck by the strange sense of Déjà vu. "Joey, this seems a lot like a-"

"Like a trap?" his friend finished his sentence for him and spun around. Joey fired a lightning bolt and struck a green thing from the sky. They watched the limp body fall to the ground with a dull _thud_.

"How... how did... how did you know that was coming?" Smokey stammered, surprised by Joey's amazing reflexes.

"As soon as I saw Kabi in the tree, I knew it was a trap," Joey explained, starting to walk over to where they saw the body fall, "as for the timing part, well, that was mostly luck. I don't know why she waited so long to attack. She could've gotten us as soon as we reached the top of the cliff."

"I should've seen that sooner," Smokey mumbled, "we talked about this and yet I still missed the sign that it was a trap. Maybe you were right about me being a burden to the team..."

"Don't say that!" Joey exclaimed, his tone turning harsh, "You are not a burden to this team. You carry your own weight, quite literally with the bag, but also on missions. If it wasn't for you, I'd have been killed by now. You blasted Manac, got me out of the cave-in, saved me from being crushed by a giant rock and, whether you like it or not, shooting flames from your ass was the only reason why we survived that day on Mount Steel. All that stuff I said to get you riled up was random crap that I made up on the spot to get you angry. Not a single thing I said was true. If it wasn't for you, Smokey, I don't think I'd last very long."

Smokey smiled a little. "Thanks, Joey. You're always the one to figure out a solution to these things, I guess I feel out of place."

"Just... don't ever think those things again, alright? And you always drag me out of the messes I get myself into. It evens out."

The body they shot out of the sky came to a rest close to the tree line. Its green body was darker than that of a regular Scyther, but Joey put that to it being blasted by electricity. His theory was backed up by as they got closer and electrical burns were obvious on the bug's armour. When they finally came within a few feet of the green lump they stopped dead in their tracks.

The green lump they thought to be a dead body of a Scyther was just that; a green lump. From a distance and moving really fast it, could be mistaken as the bug type, but the resemblance disappeared as soon as you got a close look at it. The thing Joey had shot out of the air was definitely not Talia.

"Joey... I have a feeling that Kabi wasn't the trap," Smokey stated very slowly.

Joey nodded, understanding what he meant. "This is..."

The bushes in front of them rustled and before either of them could react, something hit them with the force of small car. The blow sent the two friends flying through the air in separate directions.

Joey landed hard on the riverbank, the impact knocking the air from his lungs. The sand cushioned his fall, preventing his spine from snapping. His face felt like it was on fire where he got hit. Feeling it made the pain worse and his hand came away bloody. Smokey landed on a section of the bank farther from the waterfall, roughly the same distance from Joey as he was to the cliff.

A green blur materialized on a patch of grass between them. They recovered instantly from the first blow, jumping to their feet at the same time. There was no second guessing at who this Scyther was.

"You two are smarter than I thought," Talia said, "most people would be unaware of the trap in the first place, making the bag trick unnecessary."

Just her voice made Joey's mind cloud with rage. Looking over to his left, he could tell by the amount of smoke and flame that his friend was feeling the same.

"You know we're gonna kill you, right?" Joey growled, and much to his anger, Talia let out a shrill laugh.

"I highly doubt that," she smirked, "not with your puny attacks."

"I guess it's lucky that we learned some new ones," Joey replied, "Now, Smokey! NOW!"

Talia barely had time to react before a pillar of fire rushed towards her. She jumped up and hovered in the air above the flames. Smokey jerked his head up, changing the course of his Flamethrower. The Scyther buzzed through the air, the flames following her wherever she went. Talia was never hit though, as Smokey had to pause for breath after using the attack for so long.

She used this window of opportunity to rush the Charmander while he was preparing for another, her blades raised for the kill. A bolt of lightning blasted her out of the air, sending her crashing to the ground.

"No decoy that time!" Joey cheered as jumped back onto the grass. Talia rolled out of the way of the second Flamethrower, avoiding being burned by mere millimetres. The flames followed her as she broke into a sprint. Joey's eyes widened when he realized that she was running straight at him. Smokey saw this too and cut of his attack before it could fry Joey.

Only Talia didn't do the same. Joey couldn't avoid the attack and the Scyther's foot plowed into his face, sending him skidding across the grass. A metallic taste filled his mouth and he spat it out. The green grass became stained with red.

Joey struggled back to his feet. He looked around for Talia, but she seemed to have disappeared again. Smokey was also looking around frantically, his tail flame still burning taller than him.

Talia seemed to emerge from thin air right above Smokey. She was just out of the reach of Smokey's flame and the Charmander had no idea where she was. Joey tried to call out and warn his friend. He was too late. Talia was already speeding towards the fire type's head, her blades in the motion for a swift chop.

Joey didn't want to see the attack that would decapitate his friend, yet no matter how hard he tried, his eyes were glued to the scene. Talia brought her arm down on the Charmander's head, but to Joey's surprise, she hit him with the flat of her blade. Smokey slumped to the ground out cold. The Scyther stepped over the limp body, eying the Pikachu with an evil smile and her arms ready to slice.

Dozens of different emotions flew through Joey's mind. Relief, anxiety, anger, hate. But for the first time, his short temper was surpassed by fear. Why did she leave Smokey alive? Why was she taking her time in killing them?

His whole body trembling, Joey took some shaky steps back. He wanted to be as far away from the Scyther as possible.

"You cannot run, Joey," she reminded him. Her voice made him sick to his stomach. She was way too happy for this, "there is nowhere to flee. If you try, I will kill you like the coward you are. Then, I will kill your friend."

"Who said I'm going anywhere?" Joey snapped. His body had stopped shaking, some of his fear being replaced by anger for being called a coward, "you're gonna pay for the stuff you've done, and it's gonna be by my hands that you die."

"I know that will not happen," she scoffed, still approaching him slowly, her pace never increasing, "I know your limits, you pesky Pikachu. You cannot use more than a few weak electric attacks before exhausting yourself."

Joey took another step back and his foot slipped on loose stones. For a moment, his leg dangled in mid-air before he brought it back up to solid ground. He risked a look back and was greeted by the hundred foot drop, the spikes at the bottom still not looking the least bit comforting. There was nowhere to retreat now. He had just backed himself onto the edge of the cliff.

"Why are you doing this, Talia?" he asked, hoping to buy some time to think of a plan, "We talked to your leader, Gladios, and he said that there's no grudge between us anymore. You don't have to kill us."

"But I want to kill you," she replied. The distance between them was becoming shorter by the second, "you are the one Pokémon who has ever defended against my attacks for more than a few seconds. It is a shame that you will be dead before the day ends."

He kept his body and voice from shaking, as to not show fear. Talia could probably see right through it, but he wasn't giving her the satisfaction of seeing him scared. "So that's what this is all about? You're gonna kill me just because it's fun? And what about Smokey, what are you gonna do to him?"

"Once I have disabled you, I am going to make you watch while I kill your friend."

Joey couldn't help it. A violent shudder passed through his whole body at those words. "You're a goddamn psychopath! You kill and torture for fun! What the hell is wrong with you? What did we do to deserve this?"

"Your electrical attacks have been the only attacks that have hurt me for a long time. That means you are the only Pokémon, other than my own clan, to ever inflict pain on me. I do not like when that happens. So I am going to make sure that the last moments of your pathetic existence are the most painful you have ever know, both mentally and physically."

More pebbles fell off the cliff and onto the rocks below. Joey looked back down and honestly thought that plummeting to his death seemed a better fate than dying at the hands of a crazy Scyther. That feeling came and went quickly. He had already experienced death once and it was not something he wanted to repeat.

It could not end like this. The voice had said he came back for a reason, and he had to find out what it was. While he was unsure what the reason was, he was positive that it did not involve dying now. There had to be a way to get out alive. He could try to jump into the water and swim to safety, but that would mean leaving Smokey behind. He had that option back in the clearing, and the reasons for not choosing it were the same. There wasn't a chance in hell Joey was leaving a friend to die. He was not going down without a fight.

A single tear rolled down the Pikachu's fur and mingled with his blood. His whole body was shaking as it tried to prevent another one from escaping. The sight did not escape the Scyther's keen eyes though.

"Aw, do you think crying will get you out of this?" Talia taunted, stopping only a pace away from the defeated electric type, "Scyther are not known for their sympathy. Too bad you will never get to use that information later on in life."

Joey looked up at her with wet eyes. She could see the resignation in them. "Can't you just make it quick?" he pleaded in a small voice.

"No. I follow through on my threats," she replied coldly and lifted her arm to deliver the knockout blow. Joey shrunk back on his hind legs, like he was hoping to make himself a smaller target. A smile formed on her face at the Pikachu's reaction. She loved the fear her victims showed before their painful demise. She brought the flat of the blade down hard, aiming for the furred head.

Suddenly, Joey launched himself forward, darting underneath her scythe and through her legs. He spun halfway around and landed on his back, sliding on the slick grass. The Scyther just had time to turn around to see a thin lightning bolt flying at her. Talia jumped in an attempt to dodge the attack, but was struck in the chest. The strike sent her careening off the side off the cliff, out of Joey's sight.

"You're not the only one who can play dirty, you bitch," Joey muttered and rested his head against the ground, still shaking. He could not believe that actually worked. The attempt at copying Buzz's paralysis move worked on his first try. It was outstandingly lucky that it worked, but he couldn't complain. He was still alive, after all.

Joey kept an eye on the ledge, expecting Talia to fly up at any moment and finish him off. He hoped that she had fallen to her death on the rocks below, or possibly even drowned. However, he watched the cliff just in case. One minute passed with only the roar of the waterfall to accompany him. Two minutes passed. Five minutes passed and there was still no sign that she survived. He laughed in relief, still unable to believe his luck.

Flipping back to his feet took a surprising amount of time to do. Joey stood on all fours and cautiously approached the edge. He peered over the drop, expecting to see the mangled body of a Scyther below. He did not expect to see a something green rush towards him and smack him in the face.

The familiar feeling of weightlessness came back to him as he soared through the air, ending when he crashed back into the ground. He thought he heard something crack on impact and pain shot through his chest.

Joey tried to get back to his feet, but something stomped down on his chest, breaking another rib. He looked at it and saw that it was a green, three clawed foot. Red liquid coated it and Joey recognized it as his own blood.

"I underestimated you," an angry voice hissed from above, "that was a nice trick you pulled on me. Too bad you only succeeded in making me angrier and my blades duller, which results in your death being so much more painful."

His face was already starting to swell, but Joey managed to glare at Talia through one eye. He noticed that her chest plate had a large scorch mark on it from his lightning.

"Then why don't you get on with it already," he growled. Talia laughed, only no humour existed in the noise.

"Maybe I should kill you first," she suggested, "seeing as you tricked me before. And I am sure that the thought of me torturing your friend to death would hurt you more than anything else I can inflict on you."

Fear flashed through Joey's mind. He wasn't faking it this time. The thought of Smokey being tortured to death because he pissed off Talia was horrifying to him.

"Ah, yes. I thought so."

Talia raised her blade for the last time. The sun glinted off its tarnished surface, making Joey close his eyes from the brightness. Maybe the voice told the wrong person that they had a reason for coming back. He was going to die and he kept his eyes shut so he wouldn't see the blade kill him.

The sudden sound of flesh being pierced met Joey's ears. He waited for the agony to follow it, only it never came. Was his body too tired to register the pain? He cracked open his eyes and his jaw dropped.

A third blade had entered his vision, spouting from the burn mark on Talia's chest. Green blood covered its sliver surface and a drop of the liquid fell from the tip, landing in Joey's mouth. He resisted the urge to void his stomach.

Talia looked down at the familiar limb with a look of surprise before slowly sliding down its length and collapsing to the ground. With the weight off his chest, Joey was free to roll onto his side and throw up the remnants of the apple.

"You act like this is the first time you have seen someone die," a familiar feminine voice said from behind him.

"No, but it's the first time I've ever tasted their blood before," Joey responded and spat to remove the horrible taste. The blood in his saliva mixed with green to and produced a grotesque combination of colours on the grass. His old grin returned as he faced his rescuer, "Thanks for the timely save, Stiletta."

The Scyther looked down at the battered Pikachu showing genuine surprise that he recognized her. However, that surprise was never voiced.

"It had to be done," she said, a look of sorrow replacing her calm features, "she would have killed you both if I had not intervened. I had to kill her, or she would continue her slaughter of innocent lives."

Joey nodded. "How did you know to follow us?"

"We saw another cloud of smoke rise from the forest. Gladios sent me to investigate, fearing that you two had started another fire," she paused, taking in a different level of Joey's question, "how were you aware that I was following you."

"Huh? ...Oh, I saw some leaves rustle after Smokey created the smokescreen," Joey answered, than with a small chuckle, "I wasn't positive that someone was following us. It was more of a guess. That's why I kept asking Talia questions that I already knew the answer to."

"You wanted to make her intentions clear to those who you thought were listening," she finished for him.

"Yeah, pretty much..."

"That was a smart move. If you had not made her reveal that she had been torturing others, I would not have killed her. I overheard your plot to assassinate a clan mate and was prepared to simply watch the events unfold."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't decide to kill us yourself," Joey said, eyeing Talia's body, "then again, you don't seem to finish them off anyways."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm no doctor, but last time I checked, dead bodies tend not to breath."

Stiletta's gaze shot to the other Scyther's body. The back was slowly moving up and down, unmistakably the motion of breathing. She approached the fallen clan mate and crouched next to her.

"It would be cruel to let her die like this," she mumbled, hardly audible. Using her foot, she flipped Talia onto her back. Blood poured from the wound and flowed down her chest to the grass. Stiletta placed her blade on her neck in preparation for the execution, "I am sorry, sister, but you have to atone for your crimes."

Even though Talia's features remained the same, it seemed like she understood what Stiletta meant. She just laid there and accepted the fact that she would die.

"Wait," rasped another familiar voice. Joey looked up from Talia's body to see that Smokey had regained consciousness and was limping over to where they stood. A gash ran along the side of his head from where he was hit. Dark red blood flowed freely from the cut, blending with the colour of his skin.

"If you really want her to 'atone for her crimes,' then you'll leave her be," he said, "She's been killing and torturing others for fun, because it amuses her. Sorry, but I don't think she deserves a quick death."

"Yeah, Stiletta, she did threaten to torture me to death," Joey added, "and that's just because I hit her with a lightning bolt. Look, I hate seeing people die. Then again, it's not like we can do much for her, even if we tried. Some important things seem to be missing from her chest. I think I'll have to agree with Smokey on this one. We don't have to cause any more injuries to her. That wound looks painful enough as it is."

Stiletta nodded and turned her back on her sister. Joey watched as she walked away without a word. He looked back at Talia. Only her eyes showed any expression, this time filled with hate. They had taken the last thing they could from her: a quick death to end her suffering.

Even though she had caused pain to countless numbers of lives, Joey couldn't bear to watch her suffer. He hated seeing scenes like this, so he also turned his back on the fallen Scyther and joined her sister.

As he walked, he heard Smokey say something that was just above a whisper. "I may not have been the one to kill you, but I told you I would make you pay for murdering Daya."

Joey shuddered at his friend's words. The Charmander glared at Talia with the more hate than Joey had ever seen on anyone, Pokémon or human. He tore his eyes from the scene as he came to a stop next to Stiletta. She gazed out across the river, her face showing no emotion. However, Joey knew that under that blank look hid great pain.

"I'm guessing it's hard to kill a sister," Joey said to break the tension, "I've lost family members before, but I was never the one to kill them. The person who killed my dad was never found. I know how it feels. I'll never see my little sis again. She was really young the last time I saw her. She's great, always smiling no matter how bad things-"

"Talia was not my actual sister," Stiletta interrupted, "we refer to each member of our clan like we are a family. My only true sibling would be Tabak. Even so, I was so close to Talia, I might as well have killed a sibling."

She gazed back at Talia's body with solemn eyes. The fallen Scyther was dead, indicated by the chest no longer moving up and down. "May I ask you for a favour?"

"It's kinda hard to say no to the person who saved my life," Joey replied with a smirk, "What is it?"

"I know that you do not have feelings for her..."

"Putting it a tad lightly there..." Joey added in an undertone. Stiletta continued like nothing was said.

"... But I would prefer if she were to receive a proper funeral. Not a grave, but rather cremation. Do you think Smokey would be willing to do that?"

Joey watched how his friend just stared at Talia's dead body. Even from that distance, he saw that his friend's eyes were filled with hate. "Yeah, something tells me that Smokey would jump at the opportunity to see her burn."

"You have an odd sense of humour," Stiletta observed.

"You'd be surprised how often I've heard that," he chuckled and turned back towards the river. His laughing stopped abruptly, "aw, man. Not again."

Stiletta cast him a sideways glance before he continued. "Can I ask you for a favour also?"

"Depends what it is," she responded.

"Nothing too difficult. Since you have wings, can you get Kabi? She's hanging from a tree across the river and you can just fly over there and get her for us."

"Why are you unable to do it?"

"After climbing up that cliff, the last thing I want to do is be caught in the river and tossed over the waterfall. There are some rocks down there that I _really_ don't want to meet after falling from a hundred feet. Something tells me that it would hurt a lot to find out how sharp they are."

Stiletta stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking the offer over. "Okay. I will do it," Joey breathed a sigh of relief, but she wasn't done yet, "but what do I receive in return? By saving your life and rescuing Kabi, I think I should receive some sort of compensation for these deeds."

"You want a reward?" Joey asked, "Like what? Money, supplies, my first born son? Come on, help me out here."

The Scyther smiled a bit. "I think the reward you would have received from this mission would be sufficient. After all, none of you would be alive if it was not for me."

"How about half?" Joey suggested, "We did help you with the dealers and the clean up. That should count for something."

"Half it is then," Stiletta offered her blade and Joey hesitantly shook it, not sure if that is what he was supposed to do. Apparently he didn't offend Stiletta and the Scyther took off across the river. He had just enough time to wonder if she would be angry when they told her the job was free before she came back, towing the Metapod on a silvery thread behind her.

Stiletta dropped the smaller bug Pokémon on the ground next to Joey. With a frown, he realized that the Metapod was the same size as him. When he tried to lift her up, he found that she was also heavier than him.

"Well, at least you're safe and out of that tree," he said to Kabi. She didn't respond, but he could somehow tell that she was relieved.

Joey looked around and saw that Stiletta had rejoined Smokey. She was talking to the fire type, most likely discussing the matter of cremation. The Charmander sent a confused glare over to him, signalling that Joey should get over there right away.

"Don't worry, Kabi, I'll be back. No one's going to hurt you anymore. Just wait here, okay?" Joey told the Metapod. He could tell that Kabi didn't want to be left alone, but she seemed to understand. Smokey made a gesture for him to hurry up, so Joey left her and sprinted towards his friend.

"Did you tell him what we're doing?" he asked Stiletta once he got near. She nodded and he turned to Smokey, "Are you going to do it?"

"I don't really have a choice," he replied bitterly, "you told her I'll do it, so now I'm kind of stuck doing it."

"Okay then, so what are you waiting for?" Joey said, "hurry up with the flames and then we can get out of here!"

Smokey started to breathe deeply and took a massive breath before releasing his Flamethrower. A large black cloud came out, instead of a jet of flames. Frowning, Smokey tried again, only to get the same results.

"Is something wrong?" Stiletta asked, not pleased by the display.

"The fire's not there," Smokey mumbled, releasing another black cloud, "I can feel it, but for some reason I can't release any of it. Not even my fireballs will come out."

Joey checked out the Charmander's tail flame and noticed that it was fairly small. "Dude, your fire is tiny. I think you have to get it bigger for your fire attacks to work."

"I know that. I just can't concentrate to get it bigger," Smokey sighed.

"Let's try getting you angry. That seemed to work before."

"I'm not so sure..."

"Daya's dead, you can't evolve, you didn't get to kill Talia, your mom got captured, your dad left you and you shot flames from your butt," Joey listed off, "any of that help?"

Smokey's tail flame got a little bigger, but quickly died down to its normal size. He breathed out a small, white cloud. "It's not working."

Joey's gaze drifted from the fire type's tail to his head. He noticed the large gash along his friend's head. "Maybe you got concussed when you got knocked out. It would explain why you're having trouble thinking."

"That could be it," Smokey touched the cut and winced, "Do you think an Oran berry will heal it?"

"If it can heal a broken leg, it should heal a broken brain," Joey pointed out, "I think I'll get one too. This cut is starting to bother me. Blood keeps dripping into my eyes."

"That cut will never fully heal," Stiletta said before they left. Smokey continued, but Joey turned back.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Oran berries will help with healing," she explained, "but a cut like that will leave a scar, no matter how many berries you consume. If you are worried about your appearance, then you should know that it will be no more than a faint line. Still noticeable, but not horribly. Just be thankful that you are alive."

"Well that sucks," Joey muttered. He made the mistake of feeling the wound and flinched at the contact, "I'm here for less than a week and I've already got a permanent scar. At least I didn't get decapitated."

He looked back and saw that Smokey was talking with Kabi. His mouth was moving, but was unable to hear what they were talking about. A shadow loomed over him and he turned to find Stiletta glaring down at him. He took a step back to give himself some breathing room, only to have the Scyther close the gap immediately.

"I know that you are smart, Joey, so let me make this clear," her tone was icy, sinister even, "if you ever cross me, I will kill you. If I want you dead, there will be no escape. You fight your battles with a combination wits and strength, thinking of tactics to keep yourself alive and get what you desire. But if you or your friend tries to trick me out of the reward, then the consequences will be dire. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Joey nodded and backed away. "I understand perfectly. And don't worry about us leaving you. I don't stab people in the back..." Stiletta gave him a glare and he realized what he said, "oh... no, I didn't mean, like... actually stabbing in the back. Well, also that, but... what I meant to say is that I don't betray people. Especially those who've helped us."

"I am going to move Talia's body to a more suitable location," Stiletta said, beginning to walk in the opposite direction, "remember what I said."

Joey began to walk towards the cliff. "Yeah, sure. I'll keep it in mind. Definitely not going to screw you over."

As he finally turned his back on the Scyther, she said something that was just audible. "By the way, when someone gives too much information in a statement, it usually means they are lying."

Choosing not to respond, Joey walked away without a word. Smokey gave him a curious look.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

Joey sighed. "I may have made a mistake."

"You've made many," Smokey said, anger creeping into his voice. He walked to one side of Kabi and indicated for Joey to do the same, "What was this one?"

Doing as he was told, Joey went to the other side of the Metapod and they lifted her up. Fortunately, she was lighter than the plank they had to carry earlier. She also wasn't on fire, which was a huge bonus.

"She warned me that she would kill us if we screwed her out of a reward," Joey said, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

"While I was talking to her, she mentioned that she was receiving half of this missions reward. Did you say that?" Smokey's eyes bulged when Joey nodded, "What were you thinking? Parvo told us that he could-"

"I know the reward for this mission, okay?" Joey interrupted. He cast a glance backwards to see if Stiletta noticed the outburst. She seemed to be unaware, "That's why I think I screwed up. I just need to think of a way out of this."

"Maybe if you told me what you were planning on doing, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess! Stop making plans without me. Especially when I'm involved in them!"

"Look, I'm sorry. I know I messed up, but I can still get us out of here. She was the one who suggested that she get our reward."

"She wanted the _whole_ reward at first?" Smokey asked. Joey nodded and he lowered his voice, "You made her agree to half of it? Half of zero is still zero!"

"I was trying to make it look like there was an award!" Joey hissed, "If I agreed right away, it may've seemed suspicious."

"Brilliant plan then! You did an amazing job," Smokey's voice was dripping with sarcasm, "Now all we have to worry about is fighting another Scyther if she doesn't take too kindly to receiving half of a substantial _zero_ Poké reward!"

"At least I tried to think of something!"

"Maybe you should've waited for me then!"

"I would've, but you were too busy watching Talia die!"

"Okay, let's just stop this arguing," Smokey sighed and lowered Kabi to the grass. They had arrived next to their pack, "we're not going to accomplish anything unless we both think together."

"Agreed," Joey copied Smokey and lowered his side of Kabi too, "let's get some food in us and we can figure out what to do when we feel better."

Smokey rummaged through the bag and brought out two of the blue berries. He tossed one to Joey and they both devoured the soft fruit. At once, Joey felt the pain in his face start to fade as the odd sensation of his skin being stitched together began. The cut on Smokey's head also slowly healed and the two friends were back a relatively healthy state in no time.

Joey felt his face and, true to Stiletta's word, felt a ragged line across his face. He sighed. His face would be like that forever. As a human, he never received any major scars. He had a few from random accidents (a heavy, diamond studded watch gave him a small scar on his forehead when it slipped of its owners wrist), but never got one that would actually distort his appearance greatly.

"How do you think we should approach this?" Smokey asked, "We need to tell her before we get back home that there is no reward. If we time it right, she may accept it. As long as she doesn't go psycho, I think we should be fine."

"We need to tell her when she's in a good mood," Joey added on, "the only thing she asked of us is that you burn Talia's body. After we do that, we tell her the truth. If she's still pissed, maybe we can offer her an actual reward."

"How'd that work?"

"I'll say that I forgot that there was no reward. Then you take that chance to offer her another amount, like five hundred or something. Or maybe just the remaining supplies."

"That might just work," Smokey said, smiling.

"Yeah. It might. Can you breathe flames again?"

Smokey's tail flared up and he released a small jet of flame from his maw. Joey backed up from the heat, taking a step towards the edge.

"Nice. Okay, ready to put the plan into action?" he asked his partner. Smokey nodded and they began to head back over to Stiletta. They took one step and the ground underneath them began to shake. Not just where they were standing, but the whole forest. Both friends lost their balance at the same time. Smokey fell forward onto his face and Joey stayed on his hind legs, trying desperately not to fall over.

He took a few steps backwards in an effort to steady himself. His last step resulted in his foot resting half off the cliff, the back half supporting most of his weight. Becoming unbalanced, he began to windmill his arms in an effort to realign himself. The efforts failed, and he began to fall.

A clawed hand grabbed onto his wrist. Joey teetered on the edge for a few seconds, staring down at the rocks below.

"You're not going anywhere!" Smokey growled and hauled Joey back onto grass. The earthquake was short lived and the ground calmed down.

"Thanks," Joey said breathlessly, "I did _not_ want to end up like that Meditite."

"Don't mention it," Smokey said, "you would've done the same for me."

Joey nodded and looked across the clearing. Stiletta was watching them from afar. "We're fine! You good?"

"Yes, the earthquake did not affect me," she called back. Her voice sounded strangely calm for being so loud, "I am going to go look for firewood. I suggest that you join me."

She didn't wait for them to respond and disappeared into the woods.

"Dude, that's gotta be, like, the second time I've almost been killed from an earthquake," Joey laughed, "third if you count Thunderwave Cave."

"That was an explosion," Smokey corrected.

"Same thing."

"No, it's not."

"Let's go join Stiletta," Joey pushed his friend sideways, "she needs help."

"I don't know," Smokey said, slinging the bag over his shoulder, "last time we took a step, it caused an earthquake."

"Maybe you should lose some weight then, tubs," Joey laughed.

Smokey shot smoke out of his nose. "I'm not fat! Buzz is just weak."

"Whatever you say..."

Smokey punched the smaller electric type in the arm before starting towards the forest. A massive _crack,_ like a thunder clap, came from in front of them. It shook the ground like a miniature earthquake.

"What the hell was that?" Joey mumbled.

Smokey never got the chance to answer. Instead, the ground dissolved beneath their feet. Joey managed to cast a terrified glance over to his friend before all three Pokémon plummeted towards the rocks below.

* * *

_There has been an update to chapter 8 for my old readers. That would be the first half of Team Spartan's Thunderwave Cave adventure. If you don't feel like going back and reading it, don't bother then. Nothing much was changed in the update._

_The things that changed are:  
_

_-Leaky's explanation of the cave. He doesn't mention anything about a dungeon, but still tells them that the cave had floors for unknown reasons.  
_

_-He also gives them a map of the cave. With the map, Joey never uses the 'left hand on the wall' technique to get them through.  
_

_I think that's all I changed. Anyways, I changed these for a reason, which will become clear in future chapters.  
_

_And just a little fun fact: the past three chapters were originally supposed to be one big one. But they totaled nearly 23000 words, so they got split.  
_


	22. Evolution is Possible

The wingless Pokémon screamed as they plunged towards the ground. Even the Metapod could be heard shrieking through the hard shell.

Joey span through the air, catching blurred glimpses of his surroundings. As he faced upwards, a glint from Smokey's neck caught his eye.

"Smokey! Use the rescue badge!" he cried out to his friend.

There was no hesitation as the Charmander instantly obeyed the Pikachu. He slammed his fist into the tiny button on his neck.

A bright light started to envelop them, but the rocks still rushed towards them. It looked like they wouldn't escape fast enough. The rocks were too close and the badge was taking too long to teleport. The bright light finally obscured Joey's vision, blocking the view of the rocks that were only a few feet from his face.

When the light cleared, they were tossed into the air, still travelling at the same speed from when they had been falling. Joey skidded along the ground and cracked his head against the mailbox. Stars swam before his eyes.

"Nice entrance," someone laughed, "I like how you all flew in different directions."

"Parvo, show some respect," another said, "Team Spartan risked their lives to save Kabi because you broke the rules and went into the forest."

"Okay, mom," the first one said, its tone instantly becoming dejected.

Joey shook his head to clear the spots from his vision. Smokey was doing the same, sitting himself up on the path. He couldn't tell how Kabi was doing. She just lay motionless in the dirt by the house. Then again, that's how she was always like.

He looked over to the house. Parvo and Butterfree, his mom, were standing there. The Caterpie was wearing a look of embarrassment, most likely because his mom was glaring at him.

After dusting themselves off, Joey and Smokey walked up to their clients.

"Whoa, nice scar!" Parvo exclaimed when he saw Joey's face. His expression immediately darkened though, "Wait, you didn't have that before. How'd you get it?"

Joey felt the ridge that ran diagonally along his face. "Oh, this? A Scyther decided to slash my face open," he chuckled at this, then noticed the two bug Pokémon's horrified expressions, "It wasn't your fault. She wanted me dead anyways."

Joey's explanation didn't seem to help. Their clients still looked mortified.

"It's a long story," Smokey stated, "Well, we got Kabi back, safe and sound. Since there's no matter of payment, I guess you'll be on your way?"

"Yes," the Butterfree responded, "you have our thanks. If you need anything, we'll provide it."

The bug prodded her son forward as she went to pick up the Metapod. Parvo stopped and stared at his friend.

"That's not Kabi," he said suddenly. That got everyone's attention.

"What do you mean, that's not Kabi?" Joey asked slowly. His heart crawled into his throat.

"I'm saying that this is the wrong Metapod," Parvo claimed, "Kabi had a scratch on her face. This one doesn't."

Butterfree examined the shell also. "By Mew, he's right! How could you rescue the wrong Pokémon?"

"How were we supposed to know it was the wrong person?" Joey exclaimed, "She didn't seem too keen on telling us we found the wrong Metapod! Why didn't you tell us that Kabi had a scratch on her face in the first place?"

"I forgot..." Parvo mumbled.

Joey groaned in frustration. He clenched his eyes together. "Crap, man! Only we have the luck to rescue the wrong Metapod."

"I know. We really can't catch a break," Smokey agreed.

"Dude, if we go back now, we're gonna end up getting ourselves killed," Joey complained, "How many times did we almost die in there? Three, four?"

"I don't know, Joey. I wasn't counting. I was too busy trying not to die."

"Exactly."

"You guys have to go back!" Parvo said, "Please... Kabi's my best friend. I don't want to lose her."

They stared at him. The Caterpie had such a miserable expression. Both team members gave in at the same time.

"I guess we can go back and look for her," Smokey said, "it's not like we're that tired."

"Yeah, it shouldn't be that hard," Joey added, "plus, we can find Stiletta and explain what happened. That way she won't go crazy and try to kill us."

"Do you think that'll work?"

"Only if she doesn't kill us on sight."

The two went silent and stared at the floor. Joey looked up to Smokey. He could tell that his friend still didn't want to go back. "We have to go back, man. It sucks, I know, but this is our job. We screwed up and now we need to fix it."

Smokey groaned, his face set in a frown. He looked Joey in the eye and knew that his friend was right. Slowly, he nodded his head in agreement. They were about to turn back to the road when a group of Pokémon appeared on the path in front of them.

Team Meanies was back, and they had a scratched Metapod in their clutches.

"Heh, I told you that getting this squirt would be easy," the leader laughed.

"Yesssss, Shadow," the snake said, "too bad we had to knock her out. She didn't ssssseem to want to allow ussssss to take her."

"I'm glad she's out. Stupid girl wouldn't stop throwing insults," the leader, Shadow, looked up and noticed the five Pokémon, "Well, wouldya look at that. It looks like we've got some company. What're you wimps doing here?"

"It's only our house, idiot," Joey snapped, "and you're trespassing."

"Don't mind us then," Shadow said, "we just need to do some business with your guests and we'll be on our way."

Joey looked back at Parvo. He was quivering with fear. Even his mom looked frightened by these thugs.

"Not gonna happen," he growled.

"We saved her," Shadow glared, "we get the reward."

Smokey stepped forward to back Joey up. "There was no reward for it. You were planning on forcing it out of them."

"Yeah, now we're going to force you to give us Kabi," Joey warned.

The weird pinkish one that reminded Joey of a mushroom laughed shrilly. "You hear that, boss? These guys want to fight us!"

"I know, Rixa. It looks like they've already taken a pounding!"

Team Spartan looked themselves over. It was true. While the Oran berries did help with healing, it did nothing for cleaning them up. Smokey's forehead was caked in dry blood. Soot covered his orange skin. The leg which broke still had a nasty bruise.

Joey was much worse off. The lower half of his face and much of his upper body was stained red with blood. Patches of fur had been burned off in the fire, leaving behind large, black smudges. And to top it off, a fair bit of Talia's blood had been splattered on him. After all that, he looked more like a Jackson Pollock painting than a Pokémon.

"Yeah, we've seen better days," Joey said, "but that doesn't mean that we still can't kick your ass!"

"Rixa, Toxin. Looks like we got to teach these kids a lesson," Shadow smirked, cracking his knuckles.

"We already know you're scum," Smokey said, "come on, Joey. Let's beat these fools."

On Smokey's word, Joey dived into Team Meanies head first. Even they weren't ready for the sudden assault and Joey knocked all of them down. Smokey jumped in and the fight was on.

The fire type attacked Shadow with a plume of fire. He shrieked as he was engulfed in flames. Joey blasted the other two into a smoldering heap on top of their leader.

"Hah! That wasn't so hard!" he cheered, giving Smokey a high-five. They were both completely oblivious that Team Meanies was still very much in the fight. Joey only noticed this when a ball of dark energy smashed into Smokey. He whipped around to face the assailant, just in time to see the foot rushing towards his face. Having no time to dodge, it smashed into his head and sent him sprawling to the ground.

He flipped back onto his feet quickly. Shadow and the pink Pokémon were ganging up on Smokey. He was pinned down by the pink one, who was thrashing his face with its fists. Shadow was forming a massive black energy ball in his hands. While the Pokémon was distracted, Joey fired a bolt of electricity through the translucent body and into Smokey's attacker. The Charmander jumped back to his feet and gave his friend a wordless thanks.

Joey didn't have time to return the gesture. A sudden pain ripped through his arm. The snake had bit down on his arm, burying its fangs deep into his flesh. He simply stared in shock at the serpent, unsure of what to do.

Then the panic came. Joey screamed at the top of his lungs and began to flail his arm wildly. When that failed to produce any results, he began to punch the reptile repeatedly in the face. His blows didn't seem to have much effect against the purple Pokémon.

'_Wait...what am I doing?_' Joey thought to himself. He grabbed hold of the snake's face and gave it a dose of electricity. The serpent's body convulsed as the current passed through it. At one point, Joey thought he could see its skeleton. Figuring that to be dangerous, he stopped the flow of power and let the Pokémon fall limp to the ground.

Seconds later, Smokey crashed right next to him. He helped his battered friend to his feet and turned to face their opponents.

"You little snots are a lot harder to fight than I thought," Shadow muttered.

"We've been through plenty of stuff today," Joey said between gasps of breath, "Fighting you three is barely a challenge compared to the other things we've done."

"Is that so?" Shadow smirked at the obviously exhausted Pokémon.

"We still have enough fight in us to take you down," Smokey snapped.

"Yeah, you guys don't stand a chance," Joey said.

"I like to think otherwise," Shadow snapped his fingers. Joey and Smokey suddenly found themselves being constricted. The snake had recovered from the Pikachu's shock and was now binding Team Spartan in a very tight grip. They struggled in vain to free themselves.

"Heh, not so tough now, are you?" Shadow taunted as he prepared for another energy ball.

Smokey started to struggle even more. He had been on the receiving end of that attack, and it hurt. The last thing he wanted was to go through it again. Next to him, Joey was oddly still. The electric type seemed to be concentrating hard.

"Joey, for the love of Mew, do _not_ electrocute the Ekans!" Smokey cried out, "You'll kill me with that much power!"

"I don't know what an Ekans is, but that isn't gonna stop me from frying it," Joey mumbled, not opening his eyes.

Fear started to build in Smokey. He didn't know which attack he wanted to avoid more. It was a choice between Joey's lightning or Shadow's dark energy. Neither option seemed pleasant.

His worrying was cut short by a flash of light. It caused him to recoil, fearing the pain that he thought would come with it. It took a second to realize that its source was not from Joey, but rather from the direction of the house.

"Joey! Smokey! Hold your breath!" an unfamiliar female voice called out from the light. Figuring there weren't many other options, Smokey obeyed. From the sharp intake of air next to him, he guessed that Joey did the same.

"Who was that?" Shadow barked, "Show yourself, coward!"

The strange voice didn't say anything. Its response came in the form of a fine, blue powder as the blinding light faded away. Smokey refused to inhale as he watched the dust fall everywhere. Team Meanies didn't recognize the danger of the powder, breathing it in normally. Their eyes soon began to droop. As one, the three hostile Pokémon collapsed, sound asleep.

Even though they were free from their bonds, Joey and Smokey still held their breath. They knew what that powder was and did not want to breathe it in.

"Ummm... hold on," the voice said nervously, "I'll try to clear the stuff."

"Get out of the way!" Parvo's mother yelled, "You don't know how to use your wings properly yet. I'll clear the sleep powder."

When she was finished that sentence, Smokey was knocked over by a powerful gust of wind. Blue dust swirled around him as it was blown away. Once the wind stopped, both friends exhaled simultaneously and began to gulp in fresh air. Smokey recovered the fastest and turned to thank their savior. He was not expecting what he saw.

Floating by Parvo's mother was another Butterfree. By its feet was the empty shell of a Metapod. That explained the bright light. One of the Metapod had evolved. While he was happy that it evolved at such a perfect time, it upset Smokey that he couldn't do the same.

"That was a timely rescue," Joey groaned, rubbing his ribs. He glanced in their direction. Confusion filled his face. He rubbed his eyes, but the expression didn't go away, "Uhhh... I think I hit my head a little too hard. I'm seeing doubles."

The new Butterfree giggled. "You're not seeing double, silly," she flew around the confused Pikachu, "I'm the Metapod you saved in the woods. When you guys needed it the most, I evolved to help you."

Joey nodded in understanding. He clutched his arm where the Ekans bit him. The fur around the wound was tinted purple. He groaned again, wobbling on his feet.

"Do you have a name?" Smokey asked, not noticing his friend's condition, "I think we'd all like to know who saved us."

"My name's Jade," the Butterfree said. Her voice still sounded impossibly happy, "and please, don't mention the sleep powder. I just wanted to help. It's the least I can do, especially after you saved me from that crazed Scyther."

"Ugh... I don't feel so good..."

Everyone turned to Joey. It was obvious at the first glance that something was wrong. The skin under the Pikachu's yellow fur was a pale green. He was sweating profusely. Parvo stood next to him, staring at the electric type's wounded arm.

"Guys, I think he's been poisoned," the Caterpie observed. The older Pokémon switched their gaze to him, "Yeah, look. Purple stuff is coming from where the Ekans bit him. That means poisoning, right?"

Smokey ran to his friend's side. It was good timing too, because he got there just on time to catch Joey as he fainted. The Pikachu's arm went slack, revealing the bite. There was a sharp intake of breath from the group.

The area around the bite was a sickening shade of purple. A web of discoloured lines extended out from the wound. The bite was swollen to the size of an apple, and leaked an unnaturally dark red shade of blood.

"Oh, yes. That is a classic sign of poisoning," Parvo's mother confirmed sadly, "He needs a Pecha berry or some other cure fast. Otherwise, he might not make it."

Smokey stared down at his limp friend. "How are we supposed to help him? I don't have anything to heal poison!"

"I know!" Jade exclaimed, "I can fly into town and get the cure while you carry Joey closer. That way, I don't have to fly back as far with the antidote and Joey can get it sooner."

Smokey nodded. He looked up and saw that Jade still hadn't moved. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

"Oh, right! On it!" she said and flew off.

Smokey watched her disappear on the road. He quickly turned his attention back to Joey. The Pikachu was still being supported by the fire type. He grabbed hold of his friend's limp arms and wrapped them around his orange neck. With some difficulty, Smokey managed to lift the unmoving body onto his back and hold the weight. He had to dim his tail flame in order not to burn his payload.

"Are you sure you can make it? You took quite a beating today," Parvo warned, "You could collapse from exhaustion halfway there."

"I'll be fine," Smokey grunted, readjusting Joey on his shoulders.

"Then go, Smokey. We'll take care of these three," Butterfree said, gesturing to Team Meanies, "Don't worry about how we'll do it. Our species is much stronger than we get credit for."

Smokey nodded in response. Turning his back on the house, he began the slow and painful journey to town.

* * *

_A/N: And there's yet another update. This time, it's Chapter 17: A Morning for Mourning that gets the honour of receiving it. I literally only changed two paragraphs in it, but like my other updates, there's a reason for it. _

_When Joey wakes up and discovers Smokey's message, he's unable to read it. The language Smokey wrote in was the Footprint Runes, something that I've seen so many times in other Mystery Dungeon stories. Joey can only read English of course, so the note is useless. How he finds Smokey is just a blind guess and the rest of the chapter plays out as normal. _

_I would not recommend going back and reading. As I said, only two (maybe three) paragraphs were altered significantly and the only thing added was Joey's lack of knowledge on the Pokemon language._

_ I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it. There's still many more adventures to be had, so stay tuned.  
_


	23. Poisonous Predicament

Flying felt wonderful. She had been stuck in that shell for far too long and the freedom of getting out made her ecstatic. The way the cocoon formed prevented her from most movement, even speaking. So finally escaping that self-made prison was one of the greatest joys she had ever felt. However, all those feeling had to be put aside for now. There were more important matters at hand.

Jade had to focus on getting to town. She hadn't been a Butterfree for more than a few minutes before responsibility came crashing down on her. Now, the Pokémon that rescued her from Sinister Woods was counting on her to get an antidote as fast as possible. That was the one job she wasn't going to fail.

It didn't take long for her to get to town. After following the path for a bit, the buildings came into view. She rarely used to visit this town as a Caterpie. The journey from her home was too much effort for basically no reward. Flying seemed to make everything easier.

As she was crossing the bridge, a very deep voice called out. "Hey there! You new in town?"

Jade stopped at the voice and tried to find the source. All that she could see was a Lombre. It couldn't have been the one that spoke. Lombre have much higher pitched voices. However, there was no one else around.

"Um... were you the one who spoke?" she asked. The question just felt awkward.

The dual type laughed. "Of course I spoke. Do you see anyone else around? The name's Leaky, in case you're wondering, and, if you want, I can show you around town."

"I'm Jade, and I'd love to talk with you, but I need to get going. There's a Pikachu that got poisoned really bad and he needs a Pecha berry or something. So I really have to go, like, now."

She was about to turn away when Leaky's concerned voice stopped her again. "Joey's been poisoned?"

"Yeah, that's why I really need to get going!" Jade said. Then what Leaky said fully registered, "Wait... how do you know that it's Joey?"

"Because Joey's the only Pikachu on the entire island," Leaky told her, "Where is he? Maybe I can get him back here faster."

"Smokey's carrying him now," she said, "You can probably find him on the path."

Leaky reacted fast. He was already in a sprint before the words even fully left her mouth. It took a moment for Jade to remember that she had a job to do. She flew off towards the store at her previous high speed.

Kelcleon's was in the same place it had been when she visited two years ago. That shouldn't have really surprised her. It would be kind of hard to move an entire building.

The bells chimed loudly as the Butterfree flew into the shop. She fluttered up to the counter, where the purple brother, Thyst, was taking a nap. He cracked open an eye as she approached.

"We're closing soon, so get what you need and-"

"Where are your Pecha berries?" Jade interrupted, "Do you have anything to cure poison?"

"Aisle six: Remedies and Healing Items," the lizard pointed out an aisle. Jade thanked him and sped over to where he indicated, while Thyst fell back to sleep. She quickly found a pound of the pink berries and was out of the door in a purple blur.

The second brother entered through the same door, a bewildered look on his face. He spotted his brother asleep at the counter.

"I just saw a Butterfee race out of the store with a giant bag of Pecha berries," he informed his sibling. Thyst grunted in acknowledgement, "She didn't pay, did she?"

"... Dammit."

Jade was already halfway to the outskirts of town when she remembered that she had to pay for the berries. It was a stupid mistake in hindsight, but she was in a hurry. In the wild, there's no need to pay for things. You take what you need to survive. She wasn't used to this paying for the stuff you need.

"Jade! Over here!" someone called out as she approached the bridge. She stopped in mid-flight, turning to whoever spoke. Smokey and Leaky were putting down the unconscious Joey by the curb. She was so immersed in her thoughts, she almost flew by them. That would have been disastrous. The electric type was barely breathing.

"Do you have the berries?" Smokey asked frantically. Jade dropped the bag by his feet and he tore it open. Pink fruit spilled to the ground as the other two Pokémon grabbed them. Smokey would've forced the berries down Joey's throat if Leaky hadn't stopped him.

"Smokey, there's no point trying to cure his poisoning if you choke him by doing so. You got to do it like this," Leaky instructed. He took a berry, split in half and squeezed the segments over the Pikachu's mouth. A thin trickle of pink juice dripped into the fainted Pokémon's mouth, "Just keep doing that and he'll be fine."

As Smokey did what he was told, Leaky grabbed another handful of berries. This time, he didn't even bother to split them. Holding them over the swollen and discoloured bite, he began to apply pressure. Juice soon began to flow between his fingers and into the open wound. It made a horrible sizzling on contact. White froth bubbled from the exposed flesh. The sight was enough to make Jade want to throw up, but she resisted the urge. When most of the berries were used, Leaky and Smokey sat back. All they could do now was wait and hope for the best.

The effects of the Pecha berries were soon apparent. The swelling in the bite decreased and the colour slowly returned to the normal yellow. His breathing sped up a fraction. It seemed his basic functions were okay, but there was no telling how much damage the poison did.

Finally, after ten minutes of nervous waiting, Joey's eyes fluttered open. They couldn't help themselves. With a massive cheer, they all hugged him. Even Jade, who hardly knew him, joined the embrace.

"You're crushing me," Joey managed to gasp. They released him, and he let out a low groan, "What happened?"

That worried Smokey. "How much do you remember?"

"Everything after the earthquake is kinda fuzzy," Joey mumbled, rubbing his head, "It's like I'm watching it through an old TV."

"Huh, that doesn't sound too good," Smokey muttered. He didn't seem to pick up the TV remark. He ignored it and recounted what happened after they teleported. Joey was silent throughout the entire story, trying to see how much he could remember, "... then we carried you here and cured your poisoning."

Joey nodded and looked at the Butterfree. "I'm guessing you're Jade?" the bug nodded, "Thanks for getting the berries. Getting poisoned does _not_ feel good at all."

"Hold on a sec," Smokey looked really confused, "Joey, how did you know Jade's name? I didn't mention it in the recount."

"He probably heard it before he passed out," Leaky suggested. Smokey was still confused.

"It doesn't make sense though! He can barely remember what happened, but he remembers Jade's name?"

"Why is this such a big deal?" Jade asked, "So what? He at least remembers something. That's a good thing!"

"No, he's been doing this for a while," Smokey pushed his palms lightly against eyes, "I don't know why it's bugging me so much, but he always does this. Like earlier today. You knew the Scyther's names even though they didn't even tell you what they were. You heard them maybe once, yet it was like you knew them forever. It would make sense if each one had a certain feature that you can tell them apart by, but Scyther all look the same. It just doesn't make sense!"

"Smokey, it's not a big deal," Joey said weakly. Even when he sounded so feeble, his tone still managed to carry frustration, "I'm good with names. I always have been. You give me a name to a face and I'll never forget it. Other than that, my memory is shoddy at best. I need a face to go with it or it just goes in one ear and out the other. Does that clear things up for you?"

"Yeah, I guess," Smokey muttered, "Sorry about that. It's just... I hate it when things don't make sense. It bugs me."

"Well, I hope you understand now. I'm not explaining it again," Joey grimaced suddenly, clutching at his stomach, "Ugh... I still feel like crap. How does this stuff work? How does it get the poison out?"

"Whatever is in the juice gets into your blood and neutralizes the poison," Leaky explained, "Eating the berries works the best because most of the healing agents gets into the bloodstream. Pouring it into the wound works also, but not as well as eating it. So once all the poison is harmless, the body removes it by itself. A Pokémon's body really is a work of wonder."

"That's great and all, but _how_ does the body remove it?" Joey demanded. His voice was getting desperate. Leaky didn't have time to answer. Joey suddenly lurched forward, his eyes bulging. Before anyone could react, he curled up and vomited a small stream of purple sludge into his lap.

"That's how," Leaky said, biting his lip to prevent a laugh. By the looks of it, so were the others.

"Freaking brilliant," Joey muttered, staring at the mess in his lap, "It looks like a rainbow puked on me. Man, that's nasty."

"It's not quite a rainbow just yet. You're still missing blue," Smokey pointed out, "And orange."

"Say one more word and I'll shock so bad your heart will explode."

"Joey, I think you need to calm down and take a bath or something," Leaky said, "I can give you one if you want."

"Yeah, a bath sounds nice," Joey said wistfully. His eyebrows furrowed, "Wait, what!"

Joey jumped up, only to get blasted head on by a jet of water. He was knocked off his feet and sent tumbling head over heels into the wall behind him. The barrage of water kept him pinned against the concrete as he desperately tried to escape. Once all the grime was washed off, the torrent stopped and Joey fell to the ground.

"What the hell, Leaky!" he roared, shaking himself dry, "I'm trying to recover from being poisoned! The last thing I need is someone trying to drown me!"

"Jeez, someone's a little angry," Smokey laughed.

Joey glared at him. "You know, you're looking fairly dirty too, Smokey. Maybe Leaky should give you a bath also."

That wiped the smile from the Charmander's face. He glanced fearfully at the Lombre who was giving him a mischievous grin. "Leaky... think carefully before you decide wha-ACK!"

Smokey got a mouthful of water, an attack that is super effective at cutting off speech. The lizard was launched backwards and landed face first in a small puddle. He came up sputtering.

"Leaky! I'm a fire type!" he shouted, "Water hurts a lot in case you forgot!"

"Quit your whining or I'll shock you 'til you shut up," Joey grumbled. He was in a slightly happier mood seeing that Smokey got the same treatment, "That water will give my electricity a nice little punch."

"You do that, you're sleeping outside tonight," Smokey warned, pointing a claw at him. Joey was about to say something back when loud fits of laughter drew his attention. Leaky and Jade were both laughing their butts off. Jade actually had to drop out of the air and was doubled over.

"Is this what you guys do? It seems so awesome!" she said once she calmed down, "All you guys seem to do is go on cool adventures, fight bad guys and screw around the entire time. It looks like so much fun!"

Smokey and Joey exchanged a quick glance. An understanding passed between them.

"You're right. It is a lot of fun," Smokey nodded, "Once you get passed all the Pokémon who try to kill you, it can be really enjoyable."

"And, as a rescue team, we're always looking for new members," Joey added, "An extra set of hands is always welcome. Heck, a set of wings is even more useful."

"Are you guys serious?" Jade asked in disbelief, "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"What do you say?" Smokey said, "Do you want to be Team Spartan's newest member?"

"Yes, yes, yes I do! Yes a million times over!" she flew over a wrapped the two smaller Pokémon in a tight embrace, "I'd love to join your team!"

They pulled away from her tight hug. Joey had already nearly been crushed once that day.

"You accept the risks, right?" Smokey said, "Our last member quit because he thought he came close to death too many times."

"I think he was just a wuss," Joey mumbled. "We only came close to death twice that mission. And he wasn't even in any danger when you went psycho," Jade looked extremely confused at what he was talking about. "It's a long story. You'll hear all about it soon enough."

"So, just to confirm, you're okay with the very likely chance of dying," Smokey said slowly, trying to make the point stick.

Jade nodded rapidly. "It won't be much different than being a Metapod. Like, I was immobile, so my life was constantly threatened. On any random day, a Pokémon could have spotted me and think that I would make a tasty snack. I was lucky that never happened. So risking my neck on your team won't be much different. Only this time, I'm doing it for a reason. Not because I don't have a choice."

"I think she's good," Joey looked at his friend, "How 'bout you? You think she got what it takes to be on the legendary Team Spartan?"

Smokey laughed. "You don't necessarily have to be good to be on Team Spartan. So yeah, she's in."

"Yes! Thank you so much!" Jade did a back flip in the air, "Oh, I'm so excited. I can't wait to do our first mission. What is it? When do we start?"

"Easy there, girl," Leaky said, putting a hand on her wing, "You'll have to wait for tomorrow. The sun's going down," he pointed to the tree line. The sun was barely clearing the top of the tallest tree, "Trust me on this. You do not want to be rescuing in the dark. Some scary stuff comes out when the sun goes down."

The Butterfree looked heartbroken. Smokey patted her on the back. "Don't worry. We'll get a job first thing in the morning. There's plenty of jobs everyday on the bulletin. We'll find one."

"Yeah, and with you on the team, we can finally reach the higher offers," Joey added with a smile. Jade's enthusiasm was contagious, "Leaky's right. Let's head in for the night, get some well earned rest. The jobs will still be there in the morning."

Jade mumbled in agreement and the newly expanded team said goodnight to Leaky. They were about to cross the bridge when two familiar shapes were seen along the path. It was hard to make out who they were in the fading light. Joey stopped, prompting the others to do the same.

"Do you recognize them?" Jade asked quietly. Joey nodded, "Who are they?"

"Bolts and Frizz," he answered, "They were two Magnemite we helped rescue a while back. Well, they also helped rescue me. But that's a story for another time."

"I still don't get how you can tell who they are," Smokey grumbled, squinting at the figures, "I couldn't even tell you they're Magnemite, let alone their names."

"I have to agree with Smokey on this one," Jade admitted. "That's pretty impressive."

Joey didn't respond. He was too focussed on their former clients. Whatever reason would provoke them to leave the plant couldn't have been a good one.

"GREETINGS, TEAM SPARTAN AND COMPANY," Bolts addressed in his formal voice.

"Evening to you too, Bolts," Smokey responded, "What drags you and Frizz from the plant?"

"WE HAVE A... THERE IS A PROBLEM," Frizz said. Despite being a robot, it was obvious that she was nervous.

"I don't like the sound of this," Joey mumbled. Smokey ignored him and encouraged the machines on. Jade didn't say a word. For the first time, she was content to be silent.

"SINCE HE LEFT YOUR TEAM, BUZZ HAS BEEN MISSING," Bolts said. He actually sounded sad, "WE HAVE TRIED TO LOOK FOR HIM. HOWEVER, THE POWER PLANT IS SO LARGE THAT WE CANNOT POSSIBLY COVER ITS ENTIRE AREA ALONE."

Joey looked at the sky. The sun had completely disappeared behind the trees, leaving behind a brilliant sunset. He was taking Leaky's word. Whatever came out at night, he didn't want to be around when it happened.

"So when do you want us to help?" he asked.

"TONIGHT," Frizz answered, "WE NEED TO FIND HIM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. HIS DISAPPEARANCE COULD BE DUE TO HIS POWER CORE FAILING."

"But... Leaky said that we shouldn't be out at night," Jade said, voicing the team's fears. Her voice was shaky, "Can't we do it tomorrow? You know, when it's light out."

Bolts turned his eye to her. "BUTTERFREE, YOU DO NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS THIS IS. IF A FAILED CORE IS NOT REPOWERED WITHIN THREE DAYS, THE CHANCES OF A MAGNEMITE COMING BACK ONLINE DROP DRASTICALLY. BUZZ HAS BEEN GONE FOR NEARLY SEVENTY HOURS. TIME IS SOMETHING WE DO NOT HAVE."

Everyone went silent. Joey let out a long sigh. "Well, Jade. Looks like you're getting your first mission sooner than you thought."


	24. Unexpected Discoveries

Long shadows shrouded the entire interior of the building. Cobwebs hung off the abandoned, rusted machinery. A fine layer of dust coated every surface, with the occasional foot print to expose the grimy floor. The cracked and broken windows were so dirty that they would barely let any light in, even if it was daytime. Somewhere in the darkness a generator whirred, producing enough power to run the nearby town. The sound helped fuel the fear that was growing in the small group of Pokémon, huddled in a small pool of light.

"The only way this place could be any creepier is if dead bodies were hanging from the ceiling," Joey grumbled. His eyes kept flicking back and forth, scanning the shadows. "Seriously, it feels like something is gonna jump out and attack us at any second."

Jade glanced nervously around her. "You just had to say that, didn't you?"

"Nothing is going to jump out at you," Smokey said, sending a glare to Joey. He turned his attention to the Magnemite. "Why did we come to this building in particular?"

"Yeah, you couldn't have picked a sketchier place if you tried," Joey's comment earned him a slap to the back of the head from Smokey.

"WE CAME HERE BECAUSE THIS IS BUZZ'S FAVOURITE SPOT TO COME WHEN HE FEELS GUILTY," Frizz said. Team Spartan exchanged skeptical looks. "YES, HE CAN FEEL GUILT. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BUT ROBOTS ARE CAPABLE OF EMOTIONAL RESPONSES. BUZZ MAY HAVE FELT BAD FOR LEAVING YOUR TEAM AND CAME HERE."

"THE GUILT MAY HAVE MADE HIM NOT WANT TO RECHARGE," Bolts added. "YOU CAN SEE THE RESULT. HE HAS GONE MISSING."

"We got that much," Smokey said, "but what are we going to do about it? You said you guys needed our help. Well, we're here. What do you need us to do?"

"WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS BECAUSE WE WERE UNABLE TO COVER ENOUGH GROUND BY OURSELVES. NOW THAT WE HAVE YOU THREE, WE SHOULD ALL SPLIT UP AND LOOK FOR HIM," Bolts explained. "WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO CLEAR THIS BUILDING IN A FEW HOURS WITH FIVE POKÉMON."

"Uh-uh. Not happening," Joey objected instantly. "There is not a chance in hell I'm splitting up."

"Why not? We'll cover so much more ground!" Smokey exclaimed.

Joey shook his head. "I don't care if that's true. I'm not doing this by myself. We're just asking to get picked off one by one by splitting up. You remember what Leaky said: messed up things come out at night. Well, guess what? It's night time, and we're in a freaky-ass building. It wouldn't make sense if we _didn't_ get attacked."

"I don't want to split up either," Jade said, siding with Joey. "He's right. This place doesn't feel right. I thought we were going to do this in partners, not by ourselves."

Smokey groaned. "Fine. You two can go with one of the Magnemite. They have-"

"THAT CANNOT BE AN OPTION, SMOKEY," Frizz interrupted, "WE BROUGHT YOU HERE BECAUSE WE NEEDED EXTRA HELP TO SEARCH. IF THEY COME WITH US, THEN BRINGING THEM ALONG WOULD HAVE BEEN USELESS."

"I know, but they don't have any light source. They wouldn't be able to see if they went alone," Smokey argued. A bright light suddenly blinded him. He held his hands up to shield his eyes.

"I think we got the light situation covered," Joey said. The light dimmed and the Pikachu came back into view. He was holding a glass bulb. "I can't believe that actually worked."

"What did you find?" Smokey rubbed his eyes to clear the spots out of them.

Joey held up the bulb so they could get a better look. Something was glowing faintly inside. Whatever it was gave off a dim a light.

"It's a light bulb," he explained, "Humans use them to light their buildings. I found a box over behind that machine filled with them. All I need to do is send a small current through them and they light up like a... well, like a light bulb."

The other Pokémon still stared curiously at it. "I've never seen that kind before," Smokey said, "The buildings in town use things like those, but they aren't bulb shaped like that. They're either tubes or little spirals."

"Yeah, this kind is really old. But that's not the point. Me and Jade now have a source of light. We can go off by ourselves now. If you three want to go off alone, be my guest."

"Um, Joey," Jade whispered, "I can't power a light bulb. I'm not an electric type."

"I know," Joey grinned, "that's why you're coming with me."

Jade was surprised by this. She didn't get to ask why he would want her with him. Bolts spoke first.

"SINCE YOU WILL BE PAIRING UP, YOU SHOULD SEARCH THE SECOND FLOOR. IT ONLY OCCUPIES A FRACTION OF THE SPACE THE MAIN FLOOR DOES, SO YOU SHOULD BE DONE AT THE SAME TIME AS US. JUST GO THAT WAY AND YOU'LL FIND THE STAIRS."

"Alright. We'll get started," Joey turned in the direction the Magnemite pointed, "Good luck finding Buzz."

He and Jade left the other three Pokémon to plan. The light bulb proved invaluable. He could adjust the amount of energy he put in it to make it brighter or dimmer, something he found awesome.

"Why did you want me to come along so bad?" Jade asked after a few minutes of silence. The bulb suddenly became extremely bright.

"Whadaya mean?" Joey returned the light back to normal levels. Jade's sudden question surprised him. He was having too much fun messing with the light.

"You seemed like you really wanted me to come with you," she explained, "I'm just curious as to why. I'm the newbie. Why would you want me?"

"Well, I kinda want to know more about you," he admitted. By the dim light, he could make out the stairs in front of him. It would be difficult to scale them while holding the bulb. Each step was nearly as big as he was. "You look like you're an interesting Pokémon. I wanna hear your story."

"You think I'm interesting?" Jade laughed, hovering over the steps while the Pikachu struggled to climb them, "I'm a Butterfree. There's not much to me. My life was rather boring."

"C'mon, it couldn't have been that bad. I dunno, tell me about your family or something."

"I never knew my family."

Joey tripped on a step, nearly falling all the way back down. "Really?"

"Yup. When I hatched, the nest was empty. All the eggs were broken. I must've been late or something. I wasn't alone my whole life though. A small group of Caterpie found me. We all became really close after a couple of weeks. I just considered them my family, since I never had one of my own. For all I know, they could be my actual family."

Joey was silent as he climbed. Growing up without a family sounded so alien to him. He couldn't imagine doing so. Then again, Jade never knew what it was like to have a family. If you don't know what something is like, then you can't really long for it. She grew up with a bunch of other Caterpie. That's probably her definition of a family. Maybe she would find his life odd if she heard it, which of course she never would. He didn't know if how she felt to humans.

"So that's pretty much my life story. Now I want to hear about you."

The light flared again, threatening to break the bulb. Joey lowered the power once again as he climbed up the last step. "Why do you want to know about me?"

"If you think I'm interesting, then I think you're extraordinary," she explained. "Most Pokémon would probably think you're interesting enough with that scar on your face, but I saw how you got it so that's not a go to conversation starter. All I really know about you is that you're part of a rescue team. From what I'm guessing, you are a good fighter, really smart and got a horrible temper. Those aren't even the most interesting things though. You're a Pikachu, a species that disappeared from this island nearly a century ago. That means you had to come from somewhere, and you probably have some amazing stories to tell."

"What did you say? Pikachu aren't on this island anymore?" Joey asked. The Butterfree nodded. "Wow, I didn't know that. How did you find out? And how come no one else told me this? You think it'd be a big deal."

"You're right. It is odd that not many know about it. Your friend, Leaky, knew," Jade gave a little chuckle. "I'm surprised I remembered. I heard it years ago from the old Whiscash. It was in one of the stories he used to tell. I don't know why, but the only thing I remember from the story is that Pikachu went extinct. That's an odd fact to stick around."

Joey rattled a door knob. It was locked and he moved on. "That's cool, I guess. You think I'll be famous once word gets out?"

"Probably," Jade said absentmindedly from across the hall. She was checking her own door. "A Pikachu on a rescue team might result in tonnes of offers. Heck, you might even get some from the other towns."

That made Joey stop in his tracks. "There are other towns? I thought there was just one."

"You really know nothing about this island, do you?" Jade laughed as she checked another door. "There's three major towns. All of them are built from human ruins. The smallest, Dasos, is in the northern forests and the largest, Stegna, is to the south, passed the desert."

"And the third?" Joey prompted, "What's its name?"

Jade gave him a weird look. "The third is Ralown, the town you're currently living in. How did you not know that? There are signs everywhere that have the name on it. One of them actually has Pokémon update it with the current population."

"Huh... I've never noticed them before."

"They're kinda hard to miss," Jade mumbled. A thought came to mind. "Can you read?"

His mouth opened and closed. He was going to say he could, then he remembered Smokey's letter. Those strange symbols were clearly a different language. He didn't know which one it was, though. What he did know was that he saw it all over town. It must be the Pokémon's language. There was no point in denying it.

"No," he finally said, "I can't read Pokémon. I grew up with humans, so I never learned."

"Aw, that's terrible. I heard that humans are horrible," Jade sympathized, "See, I knew your life was interesting. Sorry it had to be in that way, though. Do you mind telling me what it was like?"

"Sure, I guess," Joey mumbled. The bug didn't seem to notice his reluctance. With a sigh, he told her the lie. The same lie he had told so many other friends. It pained him to know that he might have to live this fake life until the end. Pokémon just hated humans. He gave her the short version of it, finishing the narrative in a few minutes.

"Whoa," she breathed, "That sounds pretty bad."

"Yeah, it was terrible," Joey agreed in monotone. "Let's just get back to finding Buzz, okay?"

She nodded and they continued their search. Using the light bulb, they scanned the darkness for any sign of their friend. Each door they came to was locked or blocked off. Ten minutes passed and they still hadn't found a door they could get into. Then Joey found something.

While Jade was checking another door, a blue fragment caught his eye. Something was buried beneath a pile of rubble. Whatever it was, it stirred his curiosity. He approached the pile and tugged at the blue metal. It left the loose mound easily. He rubbed away some of the grime and uncovered white letters. Human letters.

_Experiment Analysis Room: Four_. That's what it said. He couldn't help feel disappointed. It looked like it was important when it was buried. Now he realized it was useless. He was about to throw it away when he caught himself. Something didn't seem right about the sign. He reread the four words.

"Hey, Jade. You said this building used to be a human power plant, right?" he asked.

"Technically, it still is," Jade confirmed, "I guess you can say it used to be human."

"No, I wasn't asking if it was human," Joey said, "I was asking if it's just a power plant."

"Yeah. All it does is supply the town with power."

"Can you explain this then?" he waved the sign in front of her, "It says '_Experiment Analysis Room, number four._' What experiments would they be analysing in a power plant? What would they even be testing in the first place?"

"Joey, I don't know. I lived in the forest, remember? All the info I have is based off what others tell me," she sounded annoyed, a tone Joey never heard her use before. She grabbed the sign and got a bewildered look. "How exactly did you read this? It's written in Unknown."

"Come again?"

"Unknown. It's an ancient language. Humans use it for their form of communication," Jade explained, her eyes still glued to the sign. "No Pokémon on the island knows how to read it, not even an Alakazam."

"Awesome! I can read in a language no one else can. You have any more amazing things to tell me?" Joey laughed. The Butterfree shook her head, a sheepish smile on her face.

"No. We need to get going now," she turned away, dropping the sign to the grubby floor. "Buzz still needs our help."

Joey nodded and started after her. Then something caught his eye again. He looked at the door. He noticed something about it, something that made it different from the other doors they had seen.

"Jade, hold on for a sec. Let's check in here," he said, staring up at the door.

"What? No! Joey, I know you're curious to what's in that room, but we need to go," she protested. "Bolts and Frizz told us that if Buzz's power core failed, he doesn't have much time left. We only have an hour left to find him and by then it could be too late. There are hundreds of rooms to explore just like th-"

"Jade..."

The bug stopped talking immediately. Joey had one hand on the door. He rested his weight against it. There was a loud creak from the rusted hinges, and the door swung wide open. Jade hovered in the air, feeling like an idiot while the Pikachu just smirked at her. Without a word, she followed her teammate into the dark room. Like the hallway, the room was pitch black. The only illumination came from the bulb in the Pikachu's hand. Dark shapes occupied the floor, the shadows making them undefined blobs.

As soon as she entered, she got a bad feeling. Looking down, she could tell Joey felt the same. A frown had replaced the smirk he was wearing.

"You feel it too, don't you?" she whispered. Joey nodded, a look of worry on his face.

"Something doesn't feel right," he responded. "I dunno how to describe it. It just feels _wrong_ in here. Almost like we've seen something we shouldn't have seen."

Jade let out a pathetic whimper. "Can we leave now? I don't want to be in here any longer."

"Let's check around for a bit. Only a few minutes. I promise," he said. He glanced up and noticed how scared she was. "Buzz could be in here," he insisted.

Despite what her brain was screaming at her, Jade nodded. She really wanted to leave. Joey was right though. Buzz could have wandered in here, and it was their job to find him. If she wanted to be an effective member of the team, she had to put aside her fears.

Taking a step forward, Joey increased the amount of light. The darkness backed away from them, revealing the objects it hid. Chairs were strewn around the room. Some were upright, others lay on their sides and some were smashed to pieces. Rows of tables lined the room. They were cluttered with random junk. When he got a closer look at them, he gasped. The junk wasn't random at all.

Covering the tables were microscopes, vials, beakers and other scientific equipment that Joey didn't know the names to. He didn't know much about science, since his formal education ended when he was eleven. Most concepts were foreign to him. He still didn't have any idea how gravity worked. What he did know was that the glassware on those tables had no business in a power plant. Those types were used for studying things like plants, not electricity.

His sense of unease grew. Something was definitely not right in this building. He checked around some more. On the wall opposite to the door they entered was a familiar machine. A computer sat on a desk, both of them covered with dust and cobwebs. Even though it was much more advanced than the ones he used, it was still recognizable.

A glimmer from the far corner caught his eye. He looked at it and his breath caught in his throat.

"Jade, are you sure that this is _just_ a power plant?" he croaked.

"I don't know. That's what the others told me. They didn't mention it being used for anything else," she answered, still looking warily around the room. Joey swore loudly and walked towards the computer. "Why? What's wrong?"

He climbed onto the chair. "I'm starting to suspect there's more to this place than people say there is."

"How so?" she watched as the electric type inspected the machine. "And what are you doing?"

"I am trying to find a button that will turn this thing on," he mumbled as he checked the back.

"Why do you need this thing on?" she asked. "What is this, anyways?"

"It's a computer," he answered. He was under the table, hoping he would find the power source at the back. "Humans use them for many reasons. You can play games on them, search up info, connect to others on the other side of the world and do work. Stuff like that. In a place like this, though, they probably store a lot of information on it. That's why I'm trying to turn it on. So I can find out what they were doing here."

"I don't get what's worrying you so much," Jade offered. "Maybe they were using the stuff here to find a better source of power. It makes sense that they would try to find new ways."

"Can you explain the cages, then?" Joey challenged, pressing a button on the monitor of the computer. His face sank when it failed to produce results.

Jade didn't notice this failure. She spun around and saw what Joey was talking about almost instantly. There was no denying that what he said was true.

When she first walked in, she thought that there was a mound of trash in the corner. Now she realized that the trash was actually a pile of basic cages. They were made simply from two metal squares attached by a series of bars. They looked like they could fit Pokémon ranging from all sizes. Some couldn't fit more than a Rattata, while others could fit a fully grown Hariyama.

"What were they doing?" she wondered out loud. Joey appeared next to her, the light giving her some comfort.

"That's what I was trying to figure out. The computer could've had some useful stuff on what they were doing here," he frowned. "Too bad it wouldn't turn on. This place is just so creepy, I wish I could find out what th-"

'_DING!'_

'_Smash!' _

"_OW!"_

"Aw, crap! Sorry, Jade! I didn't mean to, that noise startled me!"

A blue glow brightened the darkness of the room, allowing them to see around them. Fragments of glass littered the floor around them. Jade was clutching her side while Joey held onto the remains of the light bulb.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Joey exclaimed when he noticed the Butterfree's pain. She lifted her hand so he could see the thin cut on her side. He let out a disappointed sigh. "Seriously? Your first injury in the line of duty is from that?"

"I didn't mean to get hit by a piece of glass. That was your fault, not mine," she replied, a hint of bitterness in her tone. "What was that noise? It was loud."

Joey followed the light to the computer. "Whadaya know. The computer did turn on after all."

"I thought you said it didn't," she grumbled as they headed towards it. "You didn't answer my question, by the way."

"They make a noise when they turn on," Joey explained as he jumped into the chair. "It normally isn't that loud. The speakers must be on max," he reached over and turned a dial by the side counter clockwise, hoping that it controlled the volume, and hoping even more he was turning it the right way. He looked over at Jade with a smile, only for it to turn to a puzzled look when he noticed something odd.

"Your blood is blue," he said simply. He shifted himself to make sure it wasn't a trick from the computer light. "Holy hell, it's actually blue!"

Jade looked down at the small cut. Just as Joey said, a small amount of vivid blue liquid was dripping out of it. "Well... that's new."

The Pikachu looked at her in surprise. "You trying to tell me you've never seen your own blood before?"

"Yeah, as a Caterpie. But it was more of dark green colour, not blue," she shrugged. "It probably changed with evolution."

"That can happen?"

"Pokémon go under a total transformation in a matter of seconds when they evolve. Yet, blood changing colour is surprising to you?"

Joey chuckled in response. "True, true," he muttered as he turned his focus back to the monitor. The computer was definitely on. It was showing a message on the screen, which he quickly proceeded to read. Once he was done, he swore again.

"What's wrong now?" Jade sighed.

"The stupid thing wants a password," he grumbled, glaring at the machine.

"I'm guessing you don't know it."

"You must be a freaking mind reader."

"Okay, so can we go now?" she asked hopefully. "You can't get into the... the computer, or whatever it's called. No point in staying, right? Buzz needs help, so why don't we leave this room and-"

"Got it!" Joey suddenly exclaimed. The picture on the monitor changed from a blue background to a picture of a snowy forest. Jade was dumbfounded.

"How-but I-you said-wha... huh?" she stammered. It took her a while to form complete sentences again. "How did you do that? I thought you didn't know it."

"I guessed," he admitted, sporting a triumphant grin.

"You guessed the password?" Jade repeated. He nodded. "What was it?"

"Password."

"The password was password?"

"Yup."

"Unbelievable..."

"I know, right?" Joey laughed as he explored the computer's contents. "You'd think that someone smart enough to be a scientist would have a better password."

Jade wasn't listening. She was completely enthralled by what Joey was doing on the machine. A little white arrow moved around the screen, scrolling over small pictures. When it did so, they would light up. A click later and a new image would pop up, containing lines of Unknown and random pictures.

"This is so amazing," she mumbled. "How are you doing this?"

Joey was confused for a second, before realizing that the Butterfree couldn't possibly know anything about computers. Usually, he wouldn't want to, but he found himself explaining the basics to her. A few minutes later, and she understood most of what he told her.

"Man, I just can't believe how high tech this thing is," Joey mumbled for the tenth time. "The monitor is so thin. It's like a single sheet of glass. And it's so fast, too. The ones at the factory ran at a snail's pace compared to this beauty. They were really holding back."

Jade only comprehended part of his ramble. "When were you in a factory?"

"Uhhhhh..." Joey was not expecting that. He thought quickly for an explanation. "Yeah... I spent about two years in a factory. That's where I picked up all this computer stuff."

He was grateful when she didn't inquire anymore. Telling the truth for once felt good. It felt much better than constantly having to lie to his friends. Jade soon lost interest in his endeavor, resorting to looking around nervously. He continued to explore, only finding folders that contained information he was unfamiliar with. Starting to lose hope that there wasn't anything useful on the machine, he came across an interesting folder, labeled with the inconspicuous name of _Extremely Important._

Smiling, he clicked on it. A new window popped up, filled with a short message:

_Dear valued employee,_

_I regret to inform you that as of March 9__th__, 2076, this facility will be shut down indefinitely. _

_Pokémon activists from around the world have convinced multiple governing bodies that our experiments here are too cruel. This will result in the termination of your jobs, and you will receive no compensation. All future experiments are to be stopped immediately to prevent future lawsuits. _

_Clear your workstations by March 6__th__ and meet at the North-Western docks for extraction. Your possessions will be handled properly and brought back to you in a week's time. We are not responsible for any lost or stolen items._

_Sorry for the inconvenience,_

_John Mays, CEO_

Then, in smaller letters just below the actual message:

_File last accessed approximately 119 years ago._

"Jade, how old... how old did you say this building was?" Joey's voice cracked. That letter, as simple as it was, made him even more uncomfortable.

Jade looked to the ceiling, trying to think. "I didn't say how old it was. My guess would be... I don't know. A century, maybe a century and half."

He stared at the screen. There must be a glitch in the system. It couldn't have been that long since he left the human world. He reread the letter twice more, that date mocking him. _March 9__th__, 2076. 119 years ago._ Anger built up inside of him and he shut the window before it made him do something he regretted. It was a glitch. No more, no less.

"Can we leave now?" Jade whined. She looked so nervous to be here, Joey almost gave in.

Almost.

A new folder caught his eye as he turned away. _News_. He didn't know what kind of news. It could have been for experiments, the daily lives of the workers or maybe even the events of the outside world. Either way, Joey wanted to know what was in it.

However, a window opened before he could click on anything. Plain gray in colour, it didn't seem to menacing at first. The words at the top said _Primer Pulse in_... and cut off, leaving only a digital readout below it.

00:00:30. Hours, minutes, seconds. And it was going down.

"I know I can't read human," Jade said, the fear in her voice equalling what Joey was feeling, "but that's a countdown. Why is there a countdown?"

"I don't know," Joey mumbled. The clock hit twenty-five.

"Well, there are some words at the top! What do they say? Maybe they tell what it's counting down to!"

"All it says is _Primer Pulse in_... that's it."

"What's a Primer Pulse?" Jade was getting hysterical now. Joey couldn't help but feel the same, and yet a little annoyed at her for not being able to keep calm. Her emotions were affecting his.

"I don't know!"

Twenty seconds.

Joey thought rapidly, trying to figure out what was going to happen. What was a Primer Pulse? Priming means preparation. So whatever this pulse is, it's just preparing for something else. But what? Joey groaned. Frustration was setting in. Every answer led to more questions.

Ten seconds.

"We can't stop it, can we?" Jade whimpered. Joey shook his head and she let out a little sob.

"All we can do is wait it out and see what happens," he said, staring hopelessly at the screen.

Five seconds.

Four.

Joey was so riveted by the countdown, he was unaware that someone else had entered the room, attracted by the faint glow.

Three.

Jade heard a metal object rolling over the tiled floor. She turned to see who had entered.

Two.

Her eyes met with a curious pair.

One.

They stared in confusion at each other, neither one knowing what to say.

Zero.

A massive tremor rocked the entire building, the old structure threatening to collapse. Joey nearly fell off his chair from the shaking. He managed to hold on, his eyes still glued to the screen in front of him.

"Joey, run!" Jade yelled. He didn't hear her. After the earthquake, the countdown closed, only to be replaced by another. This one was called _M.D. Pulse_. The timer showed seventy-two hours. Three days until this thing went off.

And it was already counting down.

"Joey! What are you doing? _RUN!_"

Jade's screams brought him back to reality. A slight glow was coming from directly behind him. He spun around to face the cause of this new light. He reacted too late.

Right behind him was a familiar coloured sphere. It looked much like a Voltorb. Only, its coloured halves were switched. Colour wasn't the only defining feature of a Voltorb it had.

Like the other ones he had met, this one had its eyes screwed shut in pain. Massive amounts of electricity sparked around it. He realized just in time what was going to happen.

"Oh, son of a bi-"

He was blinded, deafened, crushed and burned at the same time by the following explosion. Glass shattered as he hit the back wall, passing right through it. The well-known sense of falling was the last thing he remembered before descending into darkness.

* * *

A faint glimmer attracted Smokey's attention. It was coming from the second floor. He assumed its source was Joey's light bulb. The fact that he could see the light was odd. He thought that the walls lining the second floor were made of metal or something similar. They had to be windows for them to allow light through. Enough dirt and grime must have built up over the years to turn their transparent surfaces opaque.

The dim light exploded in a bright flash, leaving the wall dark again. Smokey began to worry for his friends, for they lost their only source of illumination. His fear quickly disappeared when an even fainter blue light started to come from the same spot. Convinced that his team was okay, he continued the search.

A piece of scrap scraped across the floor, propelled by his foot. How did he manage getting stuck by himself? It didn't seem fair that Joey and Jade got to explore with each other, while he was stuck in a maze of machinery by himself. The only reason they were together was because Jade was afraid to go alone, and Joey refused to go alone. He could tell that the bug type really wanted to help, but she wasn't the bravest of Pokémon. Thinking about it, Smokey realized that Joey was the best Pokémon to go with the frightened Butterfree. In times of crisis, he was usually the one who kept a cool head.

Grumbling to himself, he explored every nook and cranny he came across, his flame providing an invaluable source of light. The search for Buzz had been going on for at least half hour, maybe more. From what he could tell, the others hadn't had much luck in their search either. There was no indication that the lost Mangemite had been found.

Smokey was starting to get annoyed that his friends were definitely having a better time than he was. In a fit of frustration, he booted the metal with all his might, hearing it clatter much farther along the path. He tried to see where it went, only the shadows hid it from sight. Then he saw something. Something that made him freeze in shock.

Hovering above and to the left of his path, was a pair of dull, red eyes. Smokey couldn't make out the shape of its body. All he could see was a faint outline, constantly shifting shape. It just stared at him, daring him to make the first move. Only he couldn't do anything; he was frozen in fear. The small part of his brain that still had its wits finally kicked in. The Charmander focussed, and the flame on his tail became massive, lighting up the surrounding area.

The disembodied eyes vanished, leaving Smokey staring at an empty patch of darkness.

"That's right, run away," he muttered, trying to convince himself that he wasn't scared of what just happened. Those eyes were burned into his mind, making forgetting about them impossible. He had no idea what that thing was. Well, he had some idea.

Leaky told them that strange things happened at night. Could this be what he was talking about? If it was, Smokey hoped he never saw it again. He vowed never to get caught outside during night again. At least, not without a friend.

While wrapped up in his thoughts about the eyes, Smokey forgot why he was in the plant in the first place. He was quickly reminded when his foot smashed into something very solid. Hopping on one foot and trying not to swear, he waited for the pain to subside. As soon as it did, he looked down to see what had caused the pain. He gasped the moment he laid eyes on it.

The thing was a Magnemite. Its single eye was closed, a clear indicator that it was offline. The steel body was intact, save for a few dents. He had found who they were looking for. Buzz was no longer missing.

"Bolts! Frizz! I found him! I found Buzz!" he shouted into the darkness. The calls were greeted by two separate spotlights opening up from different sides of the plant. He waited while the two Magnemite sped towards him.

"HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE LEFT?" Frizz asked anxiously as she and Bolts flew towards the Charmader's light.

"I ESTIMATE THAT WE APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES BEFORE BUZZ'S POWER CORE STARTS TO FAIL," he responded calmly. "WE NEED TO WORK FAST IF BUZZ IS TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF FULL RECOVERY."

"I saw you and Buzz recharge six Voltorb once," Smokey said to Frizz as the dual types came to a rest next to him. "Shouldn't it be easier to recharge one Pokémon between the two of you?"

"THE VOLTORB WERE NOT OFFLINE WHEN WE RECHARGED THEM," she explained, attaching one of her magnets to Buzz's. "BRINGING A FULLY UNCONSCIOUS ROBOT BACK TO A WORKING STATE REQUIRES MUCH MORE POWER."

Bolts connected his magnet to Buzz's free one. "SMOKEY, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ASKING US ANYMORE QUESTIONS. WE NEED ABSOLUTE FOCUS FOR THIS TASK."

The Charmander nodded, taking a step back. He watched in silence as the two robots got to work. As suspenseful as it was, the scene was quite boring. The three Magnemite crackled with electricity, a sight very similar to the seconds before a Self-Destruct. After four tense minutes, Buzz's eye finally flickered open. With the help of his friends, he rose a few feet off the ground. He looked around, noticing fire type.

"OH... HELLO, SMOKEY," he said. "WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THE POWER PLANT SO LATE AT NIGHT?"

The lizard gave a friendly smile. "We came to find you."

"REALLY? AFTER I LEFT YOUR TEAM SO ABRUPTLY, YOU WERE WILLING TO COME FIND ME?" Buzz truly seemed surprised by their actions. "WHY WOULD YOU DO IT?"

"You're our friend, Buzz," Smokey answered. "Just because you left our team doesn't change that one bit."

Buzz didn't respond. He looked at the ground, embarrassed. The silence was quickly filled by Bolts.

"THAT WAS A GREATLY TIMED FIND, SMOKEY," he congratulated. "ANY LONGER, AND THE OUTCOME MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SO GOOD."

"THANK YOU FOR SAVING OUR FRIEND," Frizz added.

"It was the least we could do," Smokey said, looking over to Buzz, who was still silent.

"YES, THANK YOU, SMOKEY," he finally said, his voice sad. "IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO REPAY YOU?"

Smokey thought about it for a second. "Well, you can always rejoin the team. We could use someone like you."

Buzz shook his head. "I MADE MY INTENTIONS ON THAT TOPIC CLEAR WHEN I QUIT. MY FEELINGS ARE STILL THE SAME."

"Then don't worry about paying us back," Smokey sighed. Buzz nodded and looked around.

"WHERE IS JOEY?" he asked when he noticed Smokey was alone. "YOU SAID THE WHOLE TEAM WAS HERE."

"JOEY AND THEIR NEW RECRUIT WENT TO EXPLORE THE SECOND FLOOR FOR YOU," Frizz explained quickly.

"You can actually tell where they are," Smokey indicated to far wall. Buzz followed his claw to the faint blue glow. "We should tell them to stop looking, shouldn't we?"

There was no time for an answer. The floor beneath him shook violently, knocking him over to the ground. He hated earthquakes and was grateful that this one finished early. It seemed much different than the others that had been happening recently. This one didn't last as long, but seemed much more powerful. The three Magnemite appeared to be unaffected by quake, though they were still just as confused as Smokey.

Jade's terrified voice screamed out across the plant's interior. "Joey! What are you doing? _RUN!_"

As soon as he looked up, the glow on the wall was replaced by a huge explosion. A ball of fire burst from the wall, accompanied by a tremendous _boom_. Glass and other debris flew through the air. And among the airborne wreckage...

"... IIIIIIIIITCH!" shouted one of the pieces. It landed in the darkness of the machinery with a dull thud.

"Joey!" Smokey shouted, knowing instantly that it was his friend. "Joey! Are you okay?"

No reply. Of course he wasn't okay. No one would be okay after that explosion. He doubted if anyone could survive a blast like that.

'_Don't think that stuff,'_ Smokey told himself. _'Joey's been though worse._ _He'll be fine.'_ But would he? Sure he survived the Weezing and the Voltorb, but this explosion looked so much worse.

Rendered immobile from panic, Smokey nearly missed that his companions were already hurrying towards the landing sight. He scrambled to catch up, not wanting to be left behind. The memory of the red eyes still wasn't gone. As he ran between machines, following the Magnemite's lights, he sent a silent prayer up to the gods in hopes that Joey would still be alive. He rounded the last turn and skidded to a stop.

They found him, though the Pikachu was in much worse condition than Smokey had ever seen him, even worse than after their last mission. The whole front of his body was charred and bloodied. Shrapnel dotted his entire frame. Limbs were twisted at odd angles, broken from the extreme amount of force from the blast.

"Omigod, omigod, omigod!" cried a hysterical voice from the darkness. "Oh no! Is he still alive? Will he be okay?"

Smokey looked towards the unseen speaker. A Butterfree entered their bubble of light, visibly distressed. He recognized her instantly.

"Jade! Are you alright?" he asked once he got a better look. While Joey was in the worst condition, the bug didn't fare much better in the explosion. Her purple body was covered in bruises and cuts, many of which were really deep. Something blue, possible blood, leaked from the wounds. One of wings was torn and crumpled, making it a struggle for her to fly properly.

Her frightened gaze snapped towards him at the sound of his voice. Despite her crippled wings, she made her way over to him with surprising speed. She wrapped him in a tight embrace. At first, he was baffled by her behavior, since her body was extremely vulnerable to his tail flame. Then he realized that she just needed someone for comfort.

"I'm so s-sorry, Smokey!" she sobbed into the smaller Pokémon's shoulder. "I didn't- I didn't know w-w-what t-to do! The c-count d-down hit z-zero and there was the earthq-quake. We d-didn't notice the Electrode c-come in, and it was sc-scared by the shaking. I t-t-told him t-to move, b-but he just st-stood there, g-g-gaping at the sc-screen. Then it self-d-destructed and I d-d-dont know what happened n-next!"

Smokey patted her back, only catching bits and pieces of her story. "Whoa, slow down, Jade. Tell me everything, and please, try to stay calm."

The Butterfree took a few shaky gulps of breath. When she continued, her voice was much clearer. "We went into another room to look for Buzz and Joey found a computer. He turned in on, and a countdown started. When it hit zero, the earthquake happened, like it was timing it. An Electrode snuck in and Self-destructed after the earthquake. My first instinct was to run, but I swear, turned back for Joey and called out for him to do the same. He didn't listen until it was too late. I couldn't do anything, Smokey. I'm sorry!"

The Charmander was having a hard time taking all this in. Something was timing an earthquake, according to Jade's story. That wasn't the thing that bothered him the most though. Joey seemed to be one of the most alert Pokémon he knew. Why didn't he respond to Jade's screams? What was on that screen that kept his attention for so long? The sound of sobbing interrupted his thoughts. Jade had begun to cry again.

"Jade, it isn't your fault," he said softly. "There was nothing you could do. If you tried to help, you might've gotten killed."

"But I should've tried something! Maybe if I did something, he would still be alive!" she wailed, dissolving into tears once again. She said something that hit Smokey like a tonne of bricks. He would still be alive?

His eyes widened as he looked over to his motionless friend. There was no movement coming from the body. Not even a slow rise and fall came from his chest.

"No..." he muttered, before rushing to his friend's side. "Nononononono!" he ran to his friend's side, confirming his fears. The Pikachu wasn't breathing.

"No, Joey! You can't die!" he cried, clutching the electric type's limp body. "Come on, buddy! Wake up! Wake up, dammit!"

"_WAKE UP!"_

* * *

_A/N: If you played the first Mystery Dungeon games then you know that those towns weren't on the island. I added them, and in case you're wondering, you will see both Dasos and Stegna. They will be visited sometime in the second season (or story arc, book or act, whatever you want to call them). I'm hoping the first one will come to an end around the 100 000 word mark, a goal that is rapidly approaching.  
_


	25. Old jobs

_This next chapter is going to contain a whole lot of vulgarity. Just giving you a heads up for plenty of swearing and inappropriate jokes._

* * *

Two figures gazed up at the steel building. It was massive, its many levels of metal stretching into the gray sky. Multiple smokestacks spewed out smoke and other toxins into the storm clouds above. Sounds of heavy machinery and voices rang out from the structure. A sign above the doors read _Stecore_ _Metal Works_.

The figure with ebony skin shifted uncomfortably. A thick mass of black hair sat on top of his head, expanding it by a few inches.

"Dude, are you sure you wanna go through with this?" he asked his friend.

"I have to, Vince," the other boy sighed. He was much shorter than his friend, with pale skin, messy blond hair and electric blue eyes. "This is the only thing I can do."

"There are other ways," Vince said.

"Like what?" the smaller boy challenged. "What other options do I have left? My mom's a drunk, my brother and sister are too young to do anything and I just got expelled from school. And it's not like my dad can send me ghost dollars to pay off the bills. Where else can I go?"

"Anywhere but here, man," Vince sighed, looking back up the factory. "I've heard bad things about this place. People get hurt here often. I don't want the same thing happening to you too."

"That's why I'm getting this job, dumbass," he snapped. "There's always a position open and they're willing to pay a decent amount to fill those spots. The wages go up when someone gets hurt."

"The wages are next to slave labour!" Vince exclaimed.

His friend snorted. "Yeah, _next_ to slave labour. This is more of a sweatshop."

Something wet started to fall from the sky. Drops landed on their skin. The smaller boy brushed them away as they started irritating his skin. Vince did the unwise thing and looked up to the clouds. He was greeted by a drop falling directly into his open eye. His friend flinched when Vince yelped in pain, clutching his face.

"I'm guessing it's not just rain," the blond one smirked. Vince could only nod. "It hurt?"

"Yeah," Vince muttered once he recovered. "It felt like chlorine."

"That's why you don't look up when it's raining, idiot. You can't tell if it's acid or water until you get some in your eye."

"It just stung a little," Vince rubbed his eye. When he opened it, it was bloodshot. "I don't think it's that strong today. It'll only do some real damage if it starts to pour."

As soon as he said that, thunder rumbled in the distance. The heavens opened and released the corrosive load onto the city below. The two boys were soon drenched with it. The small boy glared at his friend.

"Good job, dumbass," he grumbled. "Now look what you've done."

"This wasn't my fault!" Vince protested.

"Sure it wasn't. Now get home before you turn into a brown puddle."

Vince shrugged and started to walk away. After a dozen steps, he turned back to his friend. "You still going through with this?" his friend nodded, and he gave a resigned sigh. "Well, good luck then. I hope you get the job."

The acid was starting to hurt at this point, and the smaller boy hurried into the factory. Inside, he wiped his arms on his shirt and shook his hair to clear the moisture. Drops flew off him as he shook like a dog. Once he was mostly dry, he continued down the lobby, entering the waiting room at the other end.

The room was fairly large, containing many chairs and a few tables. Four other people were sitting down, their eyes glassy and unfocussed. Three doors lined one of the walls, where they led was unknown. Next to the entrance was a small window with a woman sitting behind it. She didn't appear to have noticed him enter. A bored look was on her face as she flipped through a magazine. Seeing nowhere else to go, he approached the woman.

"I'd like to apply for a job," he told her.

The woman stared up at him. "How old are you?" she asked in a gruff voice.

"Sixteen," he lied without missing a beat.

She looked skeptical at this, but didn't raise her concern. "Take a chair. The interviewers will be with you in a moment."

The boy nodded, noticing something on the side of the window. It said _Get to Know Your Interviewers_ in bold letters. Underneath were three pictures of people in suits, all of them men and looking very different. Richard Dickenson was fat and balding, staring at the camera with intense dislike. Gregory Steele had greying brown hair, wire framed glasses. Judging by his bored look, the boy could tell he didn't want to do this. And the final man, Cooper Holmes, wore a cheerful smile. His black hair and youthful looks made him seem like the most lenient guy of the three.

He turned away, scanning the room. One of the people sitting couldn't have been much older than him. He had a somewhat lighter skin colour as Vince, and his hair was buzzed. Feeling a connection with the other boy, he took the seat next to him.

"Out of all the seats you could've picked, you sat next to me," the dark boy said.

"That how you start all your conversations?" the blond one asked. "You must have a tonne of friends."

He ignored the comment. "Is that what you want? A conversation?"

"Why else would I sit next to you?" the smaller boy posed. "C'mon, start this thing over fresh."

"Fine. My name's Jamal," he said. "What's yours?"

The boy didn't respond. He was busy trying to conceal a laugh, and failing miserably at it.

"What's so funny?" Jamal demanded.

"Jamal is such a black name," the boy choked out, trying not to burst out laughing.

"Racist bastard," he mumbled, starting to get out of his seat. The smaller boy stopped him.

"C'mon, I was just joking around," he said, grabbing onto Jamal's arm. "Look, I promise I'm not a racist dickhead. One of my best friends is blacker than you."

Jamal cracked a grin and sat back down. "So what's your name then? And please say it's extremely white, like Harold or something."

"You can call me Joey," the blonde boy said. "All my friends do, anyways."

"I can 'call' you Joey? What's your real name?" Jamal asked.

Joey scratched the back of his head. "My real name sucks. It's Raymond Joseph."

The bigger boy burst out laughing. "That's a messed up name. Your parents must hate you."

Anger flared up in Joey. He managed to suppress the urge to punch Jamal in the face. "Yeah, it's a stupid name. That's why I don't use it."

"Sure thing, Raymond," Jamal chuckled.

"Don't ever call me that," Joey warned.

"How about Ray?"

"Stop."

"Joe?"

"Keep going and I'll sock you in the face."

"R.J?"

"I'm warning you."

"Ah, okay. I'll call you Joey,' he finally said. Joey took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Fighting got him expelled. The last thing he needed was to lose a job for it. This temper was going to get him killed one day.

"You're definitely not sixteen. How did you end up here?" he asked Jamal.

The larger boy shrugged. "My family's poor. Both parents work, along with my older brother and sister. Figured I'd get a job, help support my younger siblings. It's not like school will help me," he finished with a sigh and looked over at him. "Why are you lying about your age?"

"I'm just doing this shit to get some money," Joey answered bitterly. "Ever since my dad died, we've been surviving off of Welfare checks. My mom just ends up spending that on booze, so me and my brother and sister are left to starve. Even if I get shit for pay, it'll still be good for a decent meal for once."

Jamal was silent. It was obvious he didn't know how to respond. "Sorry to hear about your dad."

"Don't say that crap," Joey snapped. He had heard enough people say that over the past few months. It was the go to response for everyone, something that sickened him. "You don't have to apologize for something you didn't do, unless you're the one who ran him over."

"Nah, I can't drive. I'm only thirteen, fourteen in a few months," Jamal said with a chuckle. His happy demeanour turned serious. "How old are you?"

Joey glanced at the woman behind the glass. She was pretending to read her magazine because he didn't think she could read upside-down. "I'm only eleven. I'll be twelve in October."

"Looks like we're both in the same boat, eh?" Jamal smiled half-heartedly.

Joey didn't find the humour in his words. "Yeah. We both have to wade through a river of crap to get to a slightly less crappy side. Great boat to be in."

"You always look on the bright side, don't you?"

"It isn't easy, I'll tell you that."

They both shared a period of silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable one, it was more understanding. While he wasn't in the same position, Joey knew perfectly well what Jamal was going through. Having to ditch school and your friends in order to help keep food on the plates. He was living the same reality, the difference being in the path they took to get here.

One of the doors opened, and two people exited. The first man out left the waiting room instantly, while the other stood by the door and scanned the faces. Joey recognized him as the fat man, Dickenson. The older man had a massive golden watch on his wrist, adorned with shining gemstones. They locked eyes and he made a gesture for Joey to go over there. The blond didn't respond.

"You," he said in a demanding voice, pointing directly at Joey. "In my office. Now."

"Jamal was here before me," Joey responded icily. "You'll talk to him first."

"You dare defy my wishes, boy?" he questioned, his eyes bulging. Clearly he had never been refused.

"What is this, the nineteen hundreds?" Joey laughed. "Yes. I'm defying you. Take the person who's been waiting longer."

"Fine then," Dickenson said, still glaring at the younger boy. He pointed at Jamal. "Blacky. You're next, as your... _friend_ insists."

Friend seemed to be used for the lack of a better word. Joey watched as the older boy stood up and disappeared behind the door. He had a feeling he screwed Jamal over, but there was no way he was letting that guy treat others unfairly. Soon, a different door opened. Joey saw that the second man that walked out was Cooper Holmes.

When he noticed Joey, he gave him a quizzical look. He motioned for him to stand up and follow him. Joey was going to object, saying that others were here before him, but he disappeared into the office before he could do so. Seeing no other choice, he stood up and walked into the office. There wasn't anything special about it. Two shelves filled with books lined opposite walls. A plant occupied the corner. A plain wooden desk sat in the middle of the room, which Holmes sat behind. The man smiled warmly at him.

"Please, have a seat," he said, indicating a chair in front of his desk. Joey did as he said and took a chair. "First off, what's your name?"

"Joey," he responded instantly.

"No, your full name," Holmes repeated.

Joey's face turned beet red. "Raymond Joseph Ashford."

The interviewer nodded, taking this into account. "Well, Joey, I'm guessing you're here for a job." The boy dipped his head once in confirmation. "I want to give you one, however, I do not believe you are old enough to work."

The silence that followed allowed for a giant thunder clap to shake the building. Joey recovered his senses quickly. "What makes you think I'm not sixteen?" he challenged, leaning forward in his chair.

"For starters, your face doesn't have a trace of acne," he began, only for Joey to interrupt.

"I keep my face clean," he lied.

"You're barely four feet tall."

Joey resisted the urge to break his nose. He hated when people called him short. Swallowing his anger, he thought of another lie. "I haven't hit my growth spurt yet."

"And your voice is still fairly high."

"It is not!" Joey realized how high it was and lowered it an octave, "I mean, it is not."

Holmes smiled smugly at the boy, clearly not believing anything he said. "Nice try."

"Aw crap- I mean darn- I mean... shit." Joey knew he botched it. There wasn't much of a point to try and salvage the lie. He decided to try the truth for once. "Look, Mr. Holmes, I really need this job."

"I realize that fully, but I can't knowingly hire minors," the employer said, a sly smile on his face. Joey didn't know why he looked like that.

"That's bullshit! You hire kids all the time," Joey protested. He was going to continue with a rant until Holmes held a hand up for him to stop.

"As I said, I can't knowingly hire minors. According to my assistant, you said you're of age to work. If I see nothing that implies that you're lying, you can work. Do we have an understanding?"

Joey couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew there must be a catch. Holmes didn't seem like the man who would take the unnecessary risk to do something nice for a kid he hardly knew. Very slowly, he nodded his head.

"You must realize that if the authorities find out you are underage, I won't help defend you. You'll be charged for fraud, instead of the company."

There it was. Honestly, I didn't seem as bad as Joey thought it was going to be. He thought he would have to take a smaller pay or do some god awful job. The threat of being found out didn't scare him as much as having to clean toilets. As long as the police had no reason to investigate, he would be fine to work.

"I think the risk is worth it," Joey said after a moment of reflection.

"Good. Welcome to the company then, Joey Ashford," Holmes offered his hand to the boy, who accepted the handshake.

"Thanks," he said, "Exactly what will I be doing, Mr. Holmes?"

"Please, call me Cooper. I hate those formalities," the employer insisted. "As for what you'll be doing, you'll be an everyman. Those workers don't have a defined job. Instead, they do smaller jobs around the factory, like inventory or stockroom. Things like that."

Joey decided to get straight to the point. "How much will this job pay?"

"You'll make four hundred if you work a normal work week. So, ten dollars per hour."

"Ten dollars per hour?" Joey exclaimed. He told himself to calm down and continued in a quieter voice. "Why only ten?"

"It's starting wage for everyone," Cooper explained coolly, disregarding Joey's outburst. "I can't give you anymore."

The boy sighed. "Fine. I'll take it. When do I start work?"

Cooper checked his watch. "Well, if you really want, you could start now. You can still get a couple hours in if you want to make a few bucks."

"Okay, I'll get started right away," Joey said eagerly, jumping up from his seat. He was about to exit the room when a thought struck him. "Um... where exactly do I go?"

With a smile, the employer gave him directions to the changing rooms, which lead into the factory's main floor.

"Thanks, Cooper," Joey said before leaving the small office. Outside, Jamal was just leaving his interview too. He looked a bit shaken, but was wearing a huge grin.

"I got the job," he said, his voice cracking with excitement. "I'm an everyman now! How about you?"

"I got the same job," Joey grinned as he began to follow the directions that Cooper gave him. "I'm gonna head over to the changerooms, work for a bit, make a few bucks."

"Yeah, same. Mr. Dickenson told me that I had to start right away. I'm getting eight bucks for an hour, so it's not all bad."

"Only eight?" Joey asked while pushing the door open. "I'm getting ten."

"Are you serious?" Jamal exclaimed, to which Joey nodded. "That racist bastard."

"C'mon, you couldn't have expected that guy not to be an asshole," Joey laughed, taking in the room. Lockers filled most of the floor space, few of which were unlocked. He found two free ones side by side. "That guy has two dicks in his name. Anyone would be pissed from that."

Jamal joined him by the locker and gave him a quizzical look. He didn't appear to get the joke.

"Richard Dickenson. Dick Dickenson," Joey explained, looking through the locker. "You see what I'm saying? And speaking of dicks, I bet he has a tiny one. That gold watch on his hand is definitely compensating for something."

Jamal's face brightened up, chuckling slightly. It turned into a full fit when Joey took out his uniform. The clothes were way too big for the small boy.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" he demanded, glaring at the oversized garments. "I'll look like a kid trying on his mom's clothes if I wear this."

"Yeah, especially since that's a woman's uniform," Jamal sniggered. The smaller boy groaned and walked away. He rummaged through other lockers, looking for a smaller men's uniform. After five minutes of searching, he returned with a slightly smaller men's size. The sleeves and pant legs had to be rolled up just to fit him.

"Now it looks like I'm trying on my dad's clothes," he grumbled, inspecting himself in a mirror. "That's an improvement, I guess."

Jamal gave him a smack on the back. "Come on, buddy. We should get in there. Tomorrow is our first day, and we need to know what we're dealing with."

Joey nodded, joining his new friend as he walked towards the doors that connected the room to the rest of the factory. He couldn't help but feel a little anxious. This was going to be his new life as soon as he opened those doors. He glanced at Jamal's face to see if he felt the same way. He couldn't distinguish any features on the bigger boy's face that gave a hint to his emotions.

Jamal rested his hand on the door handle, finally showing some hesitation. He looked back at Joey. "You ready for this?"

"Hell no, but let's do it anyways," he chuckled nervously. Jamal rolled his eyes and pushed open the doors. Doing this alone would have been terrible for Joey. He never liked being alone. Now that he had a friend, he felt like he could take on anything that factory life threw at him.


	26. Stiletta's Revenge

"Smokey, he'll be fine."

The Charmander snapped out of his stupor and looked over at Jade. The Butterfree was hovering next to him, concern written all over her face.

"The doctors said that it's only a matter of time until he wakes up," Jade reminded him. "We can't do anything while he's in a coma."

The unconscious Pikachu rested on his mattress. Once the doctors in town stabilized him, they moved Joey back home. It might have been better to keep him in the hospital, but that building put Smokey on edge. He didn't like it in there.

"I can't just leave him here by himself," Smokey whined. "What if something happens when we leave? It'll be my fault."

"Joey will be fine," she pressed. "Now come on. There are Pokémon that need our help and sitting here by your friend's side isn't going to help them. If he does wake up when we're gone, he'll have that thing you bought from the bakery to eat."

Smokey puffed out a small white cloud. "Yeah, I guess he will."

"That's more like it," she smiled.

"We're going to have to go into town if we want to work today," Smokey pointed out.

Jade shifted awkwardly. "About that," she pulled out a sheet of paper. Smokey gaped at her. "I kinda already got one."

"How... when did you get it?" Smokey asked.

"After we got Joey to the hospital, I stopped by the board," Jade replied in a small voice. "I figured he'd be out for a couple hours and we'd do the mission once he was fine."

"Jade, he stopped breathing," Smokey reminded her. "I don't think you'll be fine after a couple of hours."

The Butterfree gave a weak smile. "With all he's been through, I thought he'd be up and ready to go. Looks like I was a bit off on that guess."

"Yeah, just a bit," Smokey rolled his eyes. "Well, we have a job. No point in letting it going to waste."

"Yes! Let's go and do some saving," Jade flapped around happily. "All this waiting is killing me more than Joey."

Smokey chuckled, her infectious joy spreading to him. He glanced back at Joey, who was still passed out, before heading out the new door. He wasn't sure if buying a piece of wood to block their entrance would do anything, but he figured it was the best he could do. He hoped the lock would be enough to stop anyone desperate enough to get in. Putting aside his fears, he joined Jade to start her first official mission.

As the two teammates started on their mission, a lone figure watched from the trees. The door didn't alter her plans for the day. She was still going to enter the house. After all, there are other ways of breaking and entering.

* * *

Joey's eyes snapped open. The dream left him feeling different from the previous night. That one left him sick to the stomach, having to relive the nastiest events in his life. After this one, he just felt homesick, missing his two friends. Vince and Jamal were two great friends from two different points in his life. Now he was almost certain he would never see them again. If the computer was right, his whole past was gone.

He groaned at the thought. The stuff on the computer was the only thing he clearly remembered about the previous night. Everything else seemed so hazy. There was a blue sign that was important, though he could not bring to mind why that was. Cages in a power plant had disturbed him at one point. There was something about being poisoned. And there was definitely an explosion at one point.

The explosion. That's why he felt like crap. His whole body ached, his brain pounded in his skull. He could see that bandages and patches covered many parts of his body. Judging from the itchiness on his head, his skull was also wrapped in cloth. The worst part was he couldn't think straight. Thoughts

and memories were jumbled around in a mess. Movements, both physical and mental, were sluggish. His eyesight was blurry and hard to focus at first. It improved quickly, allowing him to pick out things in the room.

He looked to the front of his house from the bed and noticed a door. They didn't have a door last time Joey checked. Smokey must have gotten it for some reason. The exact reason why was lost in his hazy mind. The explosion must have given him a concussion. His thoughts were interrupted by a delicious smell coming from his right. At least his nose was working properly. He rolled onto his side to see what it was and started to drool at the sight.

A piece of chocolate cake was sitting on a plate, just within reach of the bed. Smokey was truly an awesome friend to get him that, even if he wasn't in the room with him. Wiping the drool from his mouth, Joey reached out to grab the cake.

He was about to wrap his fingers around it when a blade impaled the pastry. Slightly confused by what just happened, he retracted his hand from the lethal weapon. His gaze slowly made its way up the blade until he was staring into a pair of green eyes.

"Hey... you," he croaked. He felt like he should know this Scyther. Something was blocking his mind from accessing that information though, resulting in him drawing a blank on the name. The mantis' eyes narrowed.

"Have you already forgotten who I am?" she whispered. He definitely knew her. The voice and face was familiar. Now all he needed was a name, which refused to come.

"No, I just don't know your name," Joey said slowly. His mouth seemed to be affected by the same sluggishness as his brain. The Scyther didn't seem to like the fact that he had forgotten her name.

"Allow me to give you a hint," she hissed. "Sinister Woods, the waterfall."

Joey sat up, resting his elbow against his knee and his chin against his knuckles. The two places she mentioned spun around in his head, trying to connect with the fragments of memory. Was her name Gladios? No, he wasn't at the waterfall. Plus he was a guy. Maybe Talia? No, couldn't be that. She was killed by her sister, a fact made permanent by the taste of her blood. Finally, like pieces of a jigsaw, the answer clicked into place.

"You're Stiletta, the Scyther we left behind on the cliff," he smiled, proud that he got his brain to work. Then he remembered what happened that day. The grin on his face disappeared instantly. "Oh crap, you're the Scyther we left on the cliff!"

What seemed like a faint smile came to her face. Joey honestly couldn't tell if it was simply his mind messing with him or if it really happened. Real or not, it wasn't a happy smile, more of a threatening one. Joey knew what she wanted, but had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it. He tried to take a stab at in anyways, hoping he didn't get stabbed in return.

"Okay, look, there's a perfectly good expla-" he was swiftly cut off by a blade to the throat, pinning him to the floor.

"I have no time for your explanations," she said, bringing her face close to his. "You promised me half the reward for your last mission. Depending on how cooperative you will affect how much pain I will inflict on you."

"Just to clarify, does none or lots of pain mean death?" Joey asked, still very aware of the blade against his throat. The Scyther's eyes narrowed. "You know, 'cause death can be quick, or... really painful."

"Tell me the sum and you will find out for yourself," she answered. Double meanings. He loved when people did that. He debated his options in his mind. He could risk telling her the truth and be murdered for tricking her, or he could lie and give her a random amount of money. Either way had a likely chance of him being in two very distinct pieces, so he decided to try the truth for once.

"Funny story actually, but we did that job for-" he tried, only to falter when Stiletta lost her patience and put more pressure on the blade. It dug deeper into his neck, causing him to panic and lie. "We did it for five hundred!"

"Hmm... why do I have the feeling you are lying to me?" Stiletta posed. Joey tried desperately not to roll his eyes.

'_Because I am_,' he desperately wanted to say. Figuring it to be one of the worse options he had, he chose to remain silent.

"I believe the reward was much higher," she finally said.

"You're right, it was a thousand," Joey gagged out. '_What am I thinking!'_ he wanted to yell. '_Seriously, if I dig myself into this hole any deeper I'm gonna hit the center of the earth_.'

Stiletta seemed satisfied with the lie. "That seems more like the proper sum. Now I want it all."

"We agreed to half!" Joey protested. Out of all the things he had the courage to say, that was the sentence he spent it on.

She brought he face right next to his. "Circumstances have changed," it was barely a whisper, except Joey caught all of it. She removed the blade from his neck, shoving him off the mattress.

He rolled to his feet, glaring daggers at the Scyther. She didn't show any reaction, probably due to the fact that her daggers would do a lot more than his glare. He switched his gaze from the bug to the door. It couldn't have been more than a split second, yet she still caught it.

"I know what you are thinking," she warned. "If you try to escape, I may have to cut your legs off to prevent it from happening again."

"And I thought Talia was the crazy one," Joey muttered under his breath as he walked towards the chimney. She did have a point though. In his battered state, he wouldn't even make it halfway before the Scyther reacted. He felt around the rough stone and removed the loose stone that hid Smokey's hiding place. His heart sank when he noticed the contents of the alcove.

Well, more of its lack of contents. The only thing in the small hole was a single golden coin. One Poké, an amount a tad less than the thousand Stiletta was demanding. Out of all the days Smokey decided to empty his hiding place, he chose the day where his life literally depended on it.

The electric type smacked his head against the chimney. She was going to flip when he showed her the coin. Knowing that he didn't have much of a choice, he removed the coin and put the brick back in place.

"Do you have it?" Stiletta demanded, her scythes crossed

Joey took a deep breath, preparing himself for the inevitable. "Yeah, you can say that."

He flicked the coin towards her, which she caught on the flat of her blade. She stared at the single Poké and, for a moment, looked confused at what she was seeing.

"Have you forgotten that Scyther lack a sense of humour?" she questioned, glaring at the Pikachu.

"I wish it was a joke too," Joey sighed, choosing to stare at the ground instead of the Scyther. "We don't have anymore."

In hindsight, it wasn't the brightest idea to lose sight of someone who can kill you. A blunt object smacked Joey, sending him skidding along the floor. He rolled onto his back once he came to a stop, only for a foot to stomp down on his chest. Thankfully, all it did was knock the wind out of him, instead of breaking a rib. When he opened his eyes, he realized that a broken rib would be the least of his worries.

A point of a blade was an inch away from his face. Stiletta glared down at him from above.

"I will kill you if I do not get the money," she threatened in a deadly whisper.

Joey glared right back at her. "We don't have the money," he said through gritted teeth. "And if you do kill me, then how will you get it?"

"There are other ways to get it," she said, applying more pressure to his chest. "I am sure that your friend will happily oblige when I ask for it.

"There's not a chance in hell Smokey will help you if you kill me," Joey snarled, his rage building.

"Do you want to find out?" Stiletta posed, bringing the blade closer.

"I'm telling you, there is no money," Joey said, nervously eying the razor edge. Maybe the truth could save him and he decided to try it. "We did the job for free!"

The Scyther sighed. "It looks like you are not going to comply anymore," she raised her arm. "This is your last chance."

"Are you deaf or just stupid?" he snapped. "The money you're looking for doesn't exist!"

"Wrong answer," she shook her head, raising the blade higher.

As he stared at the scythe, Joey's ager peaked. He summoned up all the electricity he could muster to blast the bug across the room. Maybe if it was powerful enough it would knock her out, or even kill her. He closed his eyes, building up the shock. Only, he couldn't find any power.

For some reason, he couldn't gather a reasonable amount of electricity. He managed to get enough for a small trickle, but not nearly enough to buy him any time. Just like Smokey, the concussion was preventing Joey from using his elemental powers. And now he was going to die for it. He opened his eyes just in time to see the blade plunge downwards.

A knock on the door stopped it. The scythe hovered right in front of Joey's left eye. Whoever was outside continued to knock. Stiletta watched the door, waiting for the unknown person to leave.

"Hey!" shouted a muffled voice, followed by another knock. "I thought I heard voices. Is anyone in there?"

The Scyther looked down at Joey. "Stay quiet," she ordered, closing the Pikachu's mouth with her blade.

The knocking continued. "Team Spartan, I need your help! Come on, my friend is trapped. I heard you guys were a good team."

A plan formed in Joey's mind. If it worked, he might be able to escape. If it didn't, he was going to die anyways. Stiletta's eyes were still locked to the door. Using his free hands, Joey slapped the blade away from his mouth.

"Yeah, wait a sec!" he yelled as loud as possible before the Scyther could silence him again. She fixed him with a gaze that could kill. Joey paid no attention to it. He waited for the response from the other side.

"Yes! I knew you were in there!" the voice cried out. Relief washed over Joey. "Come out so I can give you guys the details."

Joey was kicked onto his stomach and he scrambled to his feet. Stiletta stood in front of him. When she spoke, her voice was hardly a whisper. "You tell him that you are unable to help and to leave immediately. You only delayed the inevitable with that little stunt of yours."

Nodding, Joey ran over to the door. She was right if he couldn't think of a plan quickly. He opened the door a crack to see outside. An orange dog looked back at him.

"You're Team Spartan?" it asked. He was young, and very confused and nervous. "I thought you would be bigger and stronger, and less bandaged. The scar looks cool though."

Without meaning to, Joey ran his fingers along the ridge on his face. It didn't hurt anymore, so he almost forgot he had it. He soon remembered what he had to do, which was thinking of a way out of this.

"The last mission was harsh," Joey sighed. He looked back for Stiletta and found that she was crouched right next to him. How she managed to sneak up on him baffled the Pikachu, though it did make his escape much more difficult. He leaned against the door, the hinges creaking slightly as it moved forward.

"Well, if you really are as good as they say, then you guys can help save my friend," the dog said. "You did take on a Skarmory and a Scizor, so you should be able to handle my mission. Unless you guys have other things to do, then I'll leave."

Joey didn't hear what the orange Pokémon said. He was staring at the hinges on the door. It swung open, into the house. A plan fell into place.

"No, it shouldn't be a problem at all," he said, unable to help a sly grin from forming. "Step inside for a moment so we can talk it out."

He threw open the door, exposing most of the house, but more importantly, Stiletta's hiding place. The Scyther jumped back in alarm to a farther edge of the shack that was still shrouded in shadow. Before either of the other two Pokémon could react, Joey jumped outside, grabbing the doorknob on his way out.

Stiletta acted fast, lunging at the door. Even her speed wasn't fast enough and she slammed into the hard wood. She swore loud enough that it could be heard from the outside.

"Hah! Tricked you, you stupid Scyther!" Joey yelled triumphantly through the door. There was a thumping noise and a blade shot from the wooden door. He went cross-eyed trying to stare at the point that had stopped millimeters away from his face. It wobbled dangerously, stuck firmly in the wood. Stiletta managed to trap herself in the shack.

That thought brought a huge grin to his face. He was about to let go of the door when he noticed the blade wobble even more. Watching carefully, he could tell that as it wobbled, it became looser. His short lived victory came to an end. The Scyther was already freeing herself.

He looked back at the road, thinking of making a run for it. The thought was quickly pushed out of his mind. Even if he started running right away, Stiletta would catch up quickly. He desperately tried to think of some other way of delaying her. How could he render her harmless for a few minutes?

The scene from Mount Steel's peak flashed in his mind. He and Smokey wrestling on the cliff. Buzz watching from the sidelines. A thin stream of electricity striking the Charmander off him. The fire type laying paralyzed on the stone.

He could paralyze Stiletta. According to Buzz, all he needed was a bit of electricity. Grabbing hold of the tip, Joey began to feel around for the power he felt earlier. He hoped that it would be the right amount for the attack to work. Mustering every last scrap of it, he pumped it into the Scyther's arm.

He let go as the tip flicked upwards. The sound of an armoured body hitting the floor came from inside the house. Joey laughed, not believing what just happened. It only took one try to perfectly perform a move he had never used. Not wanting to let the opportunity to go to waste, he turned to run.

"What was that all about?" the dog asked curiously, staring at the limp blade. Joey stared blankly at the Pokémon before remembering who it was.

"Don't worry about it," Joey waved his hand and tried to continue on.

The dog stopped him again. "Where are you going? I thought you were going to help me."

"Look, I don't think you realize what just happened in there," Joey pointed to the damaged door to emphasize his point. "All you need to know is that I really need to get going."

With those words, Joey sprinted down the path, leaving an angered, paralyzed Scyther and one really confused Pokémon behind him.

He didn't look back. He just put all of his energy into running as fast as he could to town. Once he was there, he could hide amongst the crowds and think of a better plan. A quick glance to the sky told him noon was long gone. The sun was peaking through a small patch of clear sky amid the thick cloud layer. It was already making its slow descent towards the tree line. He guessed there was a little over an hour of sunlight before the clouds swallowed the glowing ball.

A searing pain started to build in his legs. Something warm was soaking his fur under the bandages. He risked a glance down and saw that the white cloth was becoming stained with reddish blotches. The sight relieved him. It was only blood. He thought it was some other bodily fluid running down his leg.

The town soon came into view. Joey didn't relax at the sight and made his burning legs go faster. A green Pokémon called out to him as he sped through the town's limits.

"Hey, Joey!" Leaky called out, "What's the rush?"

"Can't talk now. Running for my life!" Joey yelled in response, speeding past the Lombre like a furry, yellow bullet.

Leaky watched his friend barrel down the street. What was Joey talking about when he said he was running for his life?

The answer came in the form of a cold voice. "Have you seen an injured Pikachu pass by?" Leaky turned and looked up into the fierce eyes of a Scyther. He nodded, not trusting his voice. "Which way did he go?"

"Um... that way," Leaky said, jutting his finger in the opposite direction Joey headed. But he hesitated before saying it. The mysterious Scyther picked up in that moment of hesitation instantly. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Nice try," she said, "but your friend is still going to die."

With that ominous message, she ran into town along the same path Joey took. Her wings opened and she took to the sky. Leaky just stood there, not having a clue to what happened.

"What have you gotten yourself into now, Joey?" he mumbled to himself.

_'What the hell have I gotten myself into!'_

That thought bounced around in Joey's mind like a rubber ball. His mind couldn't focus. Whether it was from panic or the concussion, his usual quick thinking mind was unable to find a solution. Well, unable to think of a solution which didn't involve him dying.

_'Maybe because there is no answer...'_

_'Shut up, brain," _Joey thought angrily. _'Stop being so negative and just find us a way out of this. There's always an answer.'_

He crouched down low in the crowd of Pokémon. His small form was hidden within the masses of the town square, just like he had planned. He walked slowly through the crowds, taking care to make sure he was concealed from everywhere. His eyes picked up a blur of green against the blue sky. He looked up and swore in frustration.

The one place he didn't make sure that couldn't be seen from was from the sky. Anyone looking for him from above could see him if they had a good eye and wings. That was the unfortunate thing about Scyther.

They had both.

Joey watched Stiletta jump from roof to roof. She perched to the right of him, scanning the crowds for the Pikachu. Joey's head snapped back and forth, looking for refuge. He found it behind the bulk of a passing stone snake, similar to Irene the Steelix. The large rock type took no notice when Joey dived from the small space between its body and the ground.

He had perfect timing and Stiletta never noticed him. Once the Onix passed, Joey saw that the Scyther abandoned he post on the roof. He got back to his feet and began to run blindly through the legs of random Pokémon. A plan was forming in his head and he was becoming less and less aware of his surroundings.

_SMACK!_

Immersed in his thoughts, he didn't register the red armoured leg in front of him until his head plowed into it. Joey's momentum propelled him forward, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the red body. He got to his feet and looked up to apologize to the Pokémon he knocked over and met with a pair of furious, yellow eyes.

"Oh, you _got_ to be kidding me," Joey groaned, his eyes widening in horror.

"YOU!"Manac roared. His voice was enough to make Joey's body react. The Scizor made to grab the Pikachu in one of his claws, but Joey had already broken into a sprint through the crowd. Growling, Manac got to his feet to pursue this nuisance.

Of course it had to be Manac. It just had to be Manac that he knocked over. Now Joey had two vengeful Pokémon after him, each with a pair of weapons that he really did not want to be on the receiving side of. He needed a place to hide. But where? Where could he hide that would shield him long enough to think of something?

He passed by an alley and skidded to a stop. He peered down the space between the two buildings. It was mostly empty, only being occupied by a few dumpsters and stray cardboard boxes. Should he? His record with going into alleys wasn't the greatest. An angry shout came from behind him and he remembered that he didn't have much of a choice.

Summoning up the remainder of his courage, he resumed his mad dash down the narrow path.

He barely made it half way before he skidded to a stop again.

At the opposite end, Stiletta prowled the street. Her head was turned to the right, the side facing away from the alley. Joey turned on his heel and prepared to run back down the way he came, but he didn't get more than a single step before stopping again. The way he came was being blocked by Manac. Like Stiletta, he was also facing in the wrong direction.

He was trapped. One side held a Scyther out to kill him for a debt that didn't even exist. The other held a Scizor that hated his guts, and on multiple occasions made it clear that he would kill him if he got the chance. Joey was split on the decision. No matter which way he chose, it would most likely end in a lot of pain.

On the verge of panic, Joey finally started to take his surroundings into account. He was standing next to one of the dumpsters. There was about a half a foot of space between ground and the metal box. He made his decision.

A quick flurry of activity from the corner of their eyes caused two heads to turn at once. Both figures were staring along the length of an apparently deserted alley.

Stiletta noted the dumpsters that lined the walls. Each one had the same dimensions: six feet long, four feet tall and three feet wide. Those measurements were of no importance. The space between the metal box and the concrete was what she was interested in. The dumpster stood on a set of wheels that suspended it above the ground by about half a foot; just enough space for a frightened Pikachu to cower under. She began to approach it slowly, her ninja like skills making her footsteps silent.

The Scizor on the other side was also staring at something intriguing down the alley. He wasn't focussed on where a Pokémon could be hiding. Instead, his gaze was locked on the Scyther stalking down the path towards him.

"Hey there!" he called out, opening his wings and flying over to his lower evolution, "Haven't seen a Scyther as beautiful as you around these parts for a while."

The bug Pokémon didn't respond, seemingly oblivious to him. He landed next to her so he couldn't be missed.

"I was talking to you, you know," Manac said, adding slightly more force into his advances. "You act like you've never heard a compliment before. You should be flattered."

The Scyther flicked her eyes in his direction. They were filled with a silent fury.

"Back off, unless you want to get maimed," she growled. Manac was taken back briefly but regained his composure.

"Now what's pretty little thing like you going to do?" he laughed. Stiletta answered by swinging her blade so fast that there was hardly a blur of motion.

Fortunately for Manac, he was faster. A Scizor has to be a Scyther before it evolves. It would have the reflexes of one, even when hindered by the red armour. He caught the swinging blade at its base with his steel pincers. A glint of fear appeared in the Scyther's eyes for a moment before fading back into the old, fierce glare.

"Feisty. I like that," he grinned, still holding Stiletta's blade.

The Scyther still had other plans that he didn't see coming. With a sharp cry, she kicked at Manac's knee with her flat foot. The blow connected with a sickening crack and the leg bent outward at the joint. Manac howled in pain, though his grip never slackened. Recovering fast, he grabbed Stiletta by the neck with his free pincer and kicked off the ground on his uninjured leg. He smashed her against the wall, pinning her blades with one arm while trapping her neck in a crushing grip with the free pincer.

"Try that again and you'll see exactly how fragile Scyther are," he growled, his face centimeters away from Stiletta's. "Unlike Scizor, you don't have amour to protect your pitiful neck. You'd be surprised how easy it is to crush it."

"If you are going to kill me, then do it already!" Stiletta snapped. Manac chuckled evilly.

"Oh, that's not going to happen," he snarled. "You and I are going to have some fun first. Consider it payment for my leg."

A bandaged head poked out from beneath a dumpster. It went unnoticed by the two figures that were struggling ten feet in the air.

With a grin on his face, he bolted from his hiding place. He couldn't believe it. Two people who wanted him dead were trying to kill each other. If his luck held, maybe they would both die.

His sprint to the end of the alley slowed to a stop. Did he really want them to both die?

Looking back at the airborne struggle, he realized that Stiletta didn't have a chance of beating Manac. Sure, she was an amazing fighter, but her blades couldn't do much against a fully armoured Scizor. Joey was guaranteed to have at least one the people trying to kill him die, so why was he feeling guilty about that happening? They were getting what they deserved, right?

He didn't know if it was the concussion or just his conscience speaking, but he realized that neither of them really deserved it. Stiletta was in this mess because of a misunderstanding and Manac, while he was crazy, does save lives. His legs started to move again, only this time, back down the alley.

_'What the hell am I doing?'_ Joey thought, breaking into a full sprint. A hidden source of power appeared in him and he stored it in his skull. He wasn't going to lose something that valuable. Pain shot through his injured leg when he jumped, landing on the metal lid of the dumpster. The metallic clang that followed attracted the attention of two struggling Pokémon. The injured Pikachu leapt off the trash and rebounded off the wall, aiming straight at the Scizor.

Manac saw what Joey was going to do before it even happened. Using his free pincer, he swung it in a horizontal arc. If it had hit him, Joey would have been killed on impact. There was something Manac wasn't expecting.

With his injured leg, the Pikachu's rebound of the wall was much lower than if he had been healthy. Joey spun under the claw, striking the Scizor in the gut with his bandaged head. The charge stored in his head surged through on contact, blasting Manac out of the sky and onto the concrete below. Joey fell after the strike, smacking his head on a dumpster on the way down.

His vision swam and spun as he tried not to black out. Manac and Stiletta were fighting on solid ground now. This time, Stiletta had the upper hand, since Manac was dealing with a broken leg. Steel clashed and clanged as the two fought, until the Scizor missed swipe, leaving him vulnerable. Stiletta acted upon this weakness and swept his feet from underneath him. She raised her blade for the kill, just like she had done to Joey.

The same force that propelled him down the alley made him lunge towards the Scyther. The arm didn't connect with its target, rather being knocked out of the way by the speeding ball of bandaged fur. Both Joey and Stiletta were knocked to ground, giving Manac time to escape. Even with an injured leg, the Scizor disappeared from the alley in a heartbeat.

"What are you doing?" the Scyther demanded, picking herself off the concrete. "Why would you tackle me? Why did you even come back?"

Joey shook his head, nausea starting to overcome him. He suppressed the urge. "I dunno, Stiletta. Guilt? My hate for Manac? I wasn't really thinking when I decided to jump in the middle of a fight."

"Guilt?" to his surprise, the bug laughed. "Why would you feel guilty? You have no reason to feel that way. It was my fight, and you prevented me from ending it."

"I felt guilty because it was my fault that fight even happened," Joey explained, his voice weak. The blow to the head was really taking its toll on him.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. That's what Scyther are good at, right?" his breathing was becoming more laboured. "If it wasn't for me, you and Manac would've never met. That fight wouldn't have happened if you guys hadn't been chasing me."

Stiletta's face became expressionless as she thought this over. "You had the chance to run and leave me for dead, yet you came back because you felt guilty for leading me into the situation to begin with?" she asked, to which Joey gave a brief nod. "Why?"

"Part of being a rescue team, I guess," he answered, with a slight grin. "Save as many people as possible."

Joey waited for some sort of response from the Scyther. Stiletta was staring into the crowds, her eye narrowed in concentration. He wondered what was going on her mind, how she must think.

"You are a very noble Pokémon, Joey," she finally said, turning her gaze back to him. "However, you and I still have a debt to settle."

"Oh my god..." Joey groaned, looking up to the sky. He was about to run his hands through his hair, stopping when he felt the bandages. "Didn't you hear what I said back at the house? The debt doesn't exist! You agreed to half of the reward for the mission. Well guess what? There wasn't a reward! We did the job for free."

The Scyther looked perplexed. "You tricked me into accepting no reward?"

"More or less," he responded. "I just rolled with what you said."

For a moment, the Scyther was calm. That moment passed quickly and she screamed in anger. Joey backed away quickly when she started thrashing a nearby dumpster, slashing, kicking and all out attacking the metal box. Every blow was punctuated by a harsh clang of metal. The horrible sound drove spikes into Joey's brain. He could tolerate it for only a few minutes before it became too much too handle.

"For the love of God, stop already!" he yelled, clutching his head. The enraged Scyther stopped immediately, panting from exhaustion and anger. "Why the hell are you so pissed? It's not like you need the money all that much. I mean, you live in a freaking forest, so it's not a lot of use to you."

Stiletta took several deep breaths, calming down significantly. "Sinister Woods is no longer my home. I was exiled by my clan."

Joey admired the fact that she could be so enraged one moment and be calm the next. He really needed to learn how to do that. His temper usually resulted in bad things happening, like him dying. Then again, the Scyther clearly wasn't the calmest person he knew. She did just murder a dumpster. With those thoughts passing through his mind, he nearly missed what Stiletta said.

"Wait, you got exiled by your clan?" he questioned. "How? I thought you guys were like a family."

"We are like a family, which is why I was exiled," she explained. Her voice had a hint of sadness in it, meaning that she was probably in a great deal of grief to let her emotions show. "Killing a fellow clan mate without reason is one of the worst crimes one could commit. Not giving a fallen brother or sister a proper funeral is also a serious offence. I did both of those."

"But Talia tried to kill us! Isn't that a good enough reason?"

"What evidence supported that?"

"We all saw it!" Joey exclaimed, still not understanding Scyther logic. "Me, Smokey, even Jade, we were all there when it happened. We all saw it, we could've backed you..." he trailed off when the pieces finally fell into place. "...Oh."

"With no one to back up my claims and the fact that Talia's body was never cremated, the vote to banish me was agreed upon by nearly everyone in my clan," Stiletta said. "The only one who voted to let me stay was Tabak."

Joey instantly felt guilty. "Look, Stiletta, I'm sorry," he apologized. "The earthquake broke the cliff and we fell. We had no choice but to leave. We would've come back, honestly, if we knew what was going on."

"What is done is done, Joey. I have to determine what to do with my life now," she turned to him sadly. "Only I do not know what to do."

"You could become a mercenary," he suggested, trying to think of something. "Plenty of rescue teams would love to have a Scyther as skilled as you on their teams. Heck, it would be awesome if we had one."

There was silence between the two. Stiletta gave the Pikachu an expecting look, which was returned with a nervous laugh.

"Don't take this wrong way, but I don't think you would make a great fit on our team," he said hastily.

"Why not?" she questioned. "I have seen you two in action, and you are not the best of fighters."

"Hey! I'd say that me and Smokey are pretty damn good at kicking ass," Joey retorted. "And plus, you wouldn't exactly be in place on our team. We kinda like to have some fun on our team, and frankly, you don't strike me as a fun loving person."

"You do not want me on your team because I do not seem fun?" she crossed her arms and gave him a judgmental glare.

"Well... yeah," Joey scratched his head nervously. "There's also the fact that you did try to kill me a not too long ago. That's a fairly large factor."

"Fair enough," she said. The two shared another awkward silence in the back alley before the Scyther gave a brief chuckle. Joey looked at her for an explanation. "I just find it funny that after three days I would have thought of a better plan than threatening you for money. After all, you did owe me half the reward. And if that did not work, I could have just asked you for financial assistance."

"You're only just thinking about that now?" Joey exclaimed, gaping at the bug in disbelief. "I thought you were supposed to be smart!"

"I was so intent with waiting for my plan, I never thought of an alternative," she said. "I watched your house, waiting for Smokey to leave you. He never left your side for that entire time I watched, fearing that something might happen if he was away. You have a loyal friend, Joey."

"Yeah, you're right. Too bad he chose the wrong time to leave," he said with a chuckle. His expression turned more serious. Something Stiletta said bugged him. "Hey, what did you say before the loyal friend thing?"

"I never thought of an alternative?" she offered.

"No no, before that."

"I was unable to think of a better plan after three days?"

Those words hit Joey like a tonne of bricks. The colour drained from his face, his eyes widening in horror. The change was too noticeable for Stiletta not to see it.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, confused by the Pikachu's behavior.

Joey didn't respond. Inside his mind, a digital readout was counting down from seventy-two hours. Three days. He looked up to the sky. Though the clouds blocked his view of the sun, they were stained deep red from the sunset. Day was quickly approaching its end.

And so was the countdown.

"Holy... shit," Joey mumbled. Stiletta didn't get the chance to ask what was going on. No sooner had the words left his mouth, Joey melted into the thinning crowd of Pokémon.

He barely paid any attention to where he was going. His mind was completely occupied with what was going to happen. Night was rapidly descending on the town, leaving Joey with very little time to think of a plan. Having a concussed brain didn't make the job any easier.

Being absorbed by his thoughts, he once again forgot to register what was in front of him until he plowed through it. He and the orange mass tumbled to the ground.

"Man, you got to watch where you're going," the orange Pokémon said. Its voice changed to confusion. "Wait... Joey? You're awake? And what are you doing out of the house?"

Joey shook his head, clearing his vision. Smokey crouched in front of him. It took a while for Joey to get his mouth to work.

"Where's Jade?" he managed to ask, noticing their newest team member was absent.

"She's in the hospital. There was an accident on the mission," Smokey smiled a bit at the horrified look on Joey's face. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. She just wanted to get a checkup to get back in action faster," Joey was relieved by the news, but Smokey kept pressing him. "That's not the point. You should be home resting. Why are you running around town in this state?"

Joey remembered what he was doing prior to the collision. "We need to get the power plant, right now. I think something big is about to happen, and we have to stop it."

He turned to leave, only for his friend to stop him. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain on the way!" Joey yelled, already running towards the town limits. Seeing no other possible option, Smokey followed in full sprint.

* * *

_**A/N**: Man, it feels good to finally post this. This chapter has been written for nearly three months. Unfortunately, I didn't get to post it right away as I thought I would. When I finally got to this chapter, I had to edit most of the beginning portion. Stiletta came off as really crazy, like more insane than Talia was, so I had to change most of the dialogue in the first half. I planned her character well before our heroes even stepped foot into Sinister Woods, which resulted in the huge change of personality. I find it funny that I planned to have her in the story for the longest time, when characters like Jade were added in last minute revisions. Seriously, Jade came close to never existing. I went back and added her for the sake of a small joke, and made her a permanent character because I liked her. It goes to show how much a story could change while you're writing it. _

_Anyways, three more chapters til Season 1 comes to an end._


	27. More Than a Power Plant

The sun was nearly below the horizon when Joey collapsed. Exhaustion finally brought his mad sprint to a stop and he sprawled on the ground gasping for air. Smokey soon joined him, leaning on a tree as he panted heavily. While he wasn't as tired as his friend, it took a lot of energy just to keep up with the fast electric type.

"Okay... so let me get this straight," he said between breaths. "You're saying that in less than an hour there will be another earthquake, only this one will mess things up."

"That pretty much sums it up," Joey grumbled, struggling to his feet.

"Do you know what it'll do?" Smokey asked, leaving the support of the tree.

"No idea," Joey responded, trying to calm his heart rate. "All I saw before the explosion was M.D Pulse and that it was firing in three days."

He started to run again, forcing Smokey to follow on all fours. The Charmander glanced back at the fading sun, the scene from three days ago coming to mind.

"Joey, I think I should tell you something important," he called out to the front.

"Can't it wait?" the Pikachu questioned, not slowing down.

"It can, but it may be important."

"Fine. What is it?"

Smokey hesitated, the eyes still burned into his vision. He told Joey what happened before the explosion, how he saw the disembodied red eyes in the plant.

"You actually saw what Leaky was talking about?" Joey fell back so he was in pace with his friend. Smokey gave a brief nod, saving his breath for running. "Aw crap, man. That just makes our job so much harder."

"Sorry, I would've told you sooner, but you were kind of knocked out," Smokey apologized.

"Well, maybe if we're lucky we won't see one," Joey said, the decaying buildings of the power plant coming into view. "Let's get in there, find a computer, stop the pulse and get out as fast as possible."

"Yeah, too bad we don't have much luck," Smokey grumbled.

They covered the short distance to the rusted door they used to enter the building on the previous night. Creaking on its hinges, the door swung open to reveal the ancient innards of the facility. The dim light from the fading sun cast an eerie glow onto the machines, proving that light could penetrate the grimy windows.

"Even with the light this place still looks creepy as hell," Joey muttered, examining the rusted machinery. "Not as bad as at night, but still pretty sketchy."

He looked up to the second floor and grimaced. A giant hole had been blown in the wall, obliterating three rooms. You could see into the hallway and into the rooms across. The explosion must have been massive to cause that much damage.

Smokey followed his gaze and gave a long whistle. "You know, I'm surprised that you managed to survive that. Don't take it the wrong way, I am happy you're still alive."

Joey nodded wordlessly, amazed that he was still alive. Smokey clapped his hands, rubbing his palms together.

"Okay, so the light's fading quickly," Smokey pointed to the windows, which were rapidly growing dimmer. "Our first step is to what, find another computer? I'm guessing the one you used might not be operational anymore."

"That's one way of saying 'blown to pieces,'" Joey laughed. "Well, you're right. We need to find another if want to figure out how to stop this thing from going off. You know what a computer looks like, right?"

Smokey scratched the back of his head. "Umm... no."

Joey groaned and began explaining what it looked like. The task was much harder and time consuming because the Charmander didn't know anything about human technology, forcing Joey to use the simplest terms to describe the machine. By the time he was done, the facility was almost back to the same darkness when they were there three days ago.

"Come on, we need to go," Joey said, eying the shadows uncertainly. "Time's running out."

The Pikachu began to run between machines, but stopped when he realized his friend wasn't following him. He gave the Charmander a questioning look.

"Shouldn't we be going to the second floor?" Smokey asked. "That's where you found the computer last time. Shouldn't there be others up there too?"

"That would be a good idea," Joey said. Smokey smiled, but it soon faltered as Joey continued. "Only, you seemed to have missed the fact that the second floor got obliterated in the explosion. Not all of it, of course. There's just a convenient hole in the floor that kinda makes it impossible to get to the other side."

Smokey opened his mouth to argue back, though he closed it when he realized Joey was right. He frowned, finding it annoying that even with a concussion his friend still managed to trump him in an argument. The Pikachu smiled smugly, gesturing to follow him. Rolling his eyes, Smokey fell into place by the electric type's side.

Soon, the duo was running throughout the facility. The light from the windows eventually faded, leaving Smokey's tail flame the only source of illumination in the building. Their footsteps echoed off the walls, making the building seem emptier than it actually was. The two friends hurried between machines, trying to find a computer so they could get out of the creepy building as fast as possible.

After ten minutes of searching, Smokey slowed to a stop. He leaned against the wall, panting heavily. The constant sprint had really drained him and he was in desperate need of a break. Joey didn't realize his friend had stopped until he cleared the bubble of light.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked, walking back into the light. He was breathing hard, yet showed no signs of taking a break. "We need to find a computer before it's too late. There isn't any time for taking a rest!"

"I don't have the stamina to keep running as fast as you," Smokey answered. "You're a lot faster than me."

"C'mon, Tubs, you're fine," Joey insisted. "I'm the one with the brain injury and messed up leg. You have no excuse for being tired."

"I just came back from a rescue mission and you've been sleeping for three days," Smokey countered. "And stop calling me fat!"

"Maybe if you can run I'll change my mind," the Pikachu taunted. "It's your choice, fatty."

Smokey scowled, but his heart still felt ready to explode. No matter how much Joey taunted him, his limbs needed a long rest. "I can't right now. Just give me a few more minutes and I'll be fine."

"Dammit, Smokey!" Joey growled. "Every minute you spend resting is another minute we lose. We have to keep searching, no matter how tired you are. It's not like one will just fall out of the sky right in front of us."

The electric type took a step forward to help his friend up. His foot connected with the ground and suddenly, he was gone. It happened so fast, that Smokey would have missed it if he wasn't brought back to reality by his friend's scream. He ran over to the hole in the ground which opened without warning and swallowed Joey.

"Joey!" he called down into the darkness, growing more worried by the second. "Are you okay?"

"Falls aren't good for concussions," was his pained answer. Relief washed over Smokey. His friend was still in good enough condition to be a smartass. He grabbed his tail and brought it towards the hole, using the flame to see the bottom. Twenty feet below, Joey was rubbing his head, looking back up at the Charmander.

"You must really hate gravity by now," Smokey joked, earning a scowl from his friend.

"Shut up and get down here," Joey snapped. "I can't see anything."

Still grinning, the fire type lowered himself into the hole. He let go and the air rushed around him as he sped towards the floor. He hit the steel and rolled, avoiding breaking a leg.

"I think my landing was a little more graceful than yours," he said, dusting himself off. That didn't help Joey's temper at all.

"You're lucky the concussion is blocking my electricity," the Pikachu growled, "or you'd be an ash heap by now."

Smokey suppressed a laugh, choosing to look around first. They had fallen into a spacious hallway, lined with doors on either side. Cobwebs clung to the metal surfaces and parts of the ceiling had collapsed, leaving heaps of debris on the floor. Despite being littered by wreckage, the hallway was cleaner than the upper level. Nature seemed to have trouble reclaiming the lower levels, since the open parts of the floor were clean, not counting the fine layer of dust. Not many living beings must have seen this part of the plant for a while.

He looked over at his friend, who was examining a blue sign by one of the doors. It was written in Unknown, yet the Pikachu seemed to know what it said, for his face was stuck in a frown.

"You can read that?" Smokey asked, sticking with a neutral question. Joey nodded, still staring at the sign. "How? And what does it say?"

Joey bit his lip. "It says... it says _Experimenting Station 2a_," he turned to the Charmander, his face still really confused. "I've always been able to read human. Jade knew this, didn't she tell you?"

Smokey thought back, remembering the Butterfree's recount of the explosion at the hospital. She did mention Joey's comprehension of the human language, and also his strange lack of the Pokémon one. That info slipped his mind, which surprised him considering it was so odd.

"I don't get this, man," Joey said. "None of this is making any sense. The rooms down here were doing experiments and the rooms upstairs were analyzing the results. Cages were in those rooms and the note on the computer said that Pokémon activists shut this place down," he groaned and fixed Smokey with a pained gaze. "I'm starting to think that this place is more than just a power plant. The generators were used to power these experiments, not just the town."

Silence followed his words as the two Pokémon digested what had been said. Smokey was in the dark on most of what Joey was saying, since he had to rely on taking what Joey said to be true. His friend's head injury could have altered the memories slightly, skewing his conclusion. Then again, Joey had been the one to arrive at the correct answer first for the past week. Why should this time be any different?

"Look, maybe there's another reason for all this," Smokey said uncertainly. "These experiments could just be for alternate power sources. Not everything has to be so sinister."

"Then explain the cages upstairs," Joey challenged. "Or why _Pokémon_ activists shut down this place?"

Smokey thought for a minute. "Pokémon activists shut this place down because it was harmful to the environment and was hurting the native Pokémon. The cages could've been used to examine the effects the pollution had on the Pokémon, to show if there was any truth to the activists claims."

Joey looked like he was going to argue. His face soon took on a thoughtful look as he mulled over Smokey's theory. A grin soon split his face. "I actually hadn't thought of that. Good job, Smokey. I was really worried for a sec."

"Hey, I'm just glad that I found the answer instead of you," Smokey said. "I'm getting better at this problem solving stuff."

"Only because I have a concussion," Joey joked, taking a better look around. "Well, it looks like we're not getting out the way we came in, so we should probably explore. Experiment rooms gotta have computers in them."

Smokey nodded and they resumed their search, this time at a slower pace. Most of the doors were locked and resistant to fire, a detail they learned when they tried to blast them open. It struck him as suspicious as to why they needed to be so sturdy, before pushing the thought out of his mind and continuing along the hall. When they did find an unlocked door, everything was trashed inside the room. This happened several times, and each time it did made the explorers more and more frustrated.

"Dammit!" Joey yelled. "Why can't we get any luck? It should not be this hard to find a computer in a freaking power plant!"

He kicked a metal wall next to him in frustration, howling from the pain that followed. Smokey didn't laugh at his friend. He approached the metal and rapped his knuckles against it. Just like when Joey kicked it, a hollow sound came from the wall. Smokey figured that it wasn't that big of a deal and turned to walk away, but Joey stayed behind.

"I don't think anything's behind that wall," Joey mumbled, stopping his friend.

"Yeah, so what?" Smokey asked, glancing back. "I bet many walls are hollow in this place."

Joey wasn't convinced yet. He backed up to get a better look at the wall. The top was shrouded in shadow. "Can you give me some more light so I can see the top?"

"Why?"

"I just gave you the reason."

The Charmander rolled his eyes and increased the size of his tail flame. The entire hallway was illuminated around them, and he noticed that the wall Joey kicked wasn't just a wall.

It was a set of huge metal doors.

"It's an elevator," Joey mumbled, staring above the doorway. Smokey followed his gaze to a panel near the ceiling, which had a series of lights in a horizontal strip. Next to the door was another panel, containing two buttons right over the other.

"Um... what's an elevator?" Smokey asked.

"It's a lift people use to get to different levels faster," Joey quickly explained, heading over to side panel. "Give me a hand here so I can reach that button."

"Why?" the fire type asked again. He received an annoyed glare from the Pikachu as his answer. "I guess I'm not going to get a straight answer, am I?"

"Just give me a hand."

"Thought so," Smokey mumbled as he hefted the smaller Pikachu up, allowing Joey to smack the lowest button. He sighed when nothing happened.

"I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for that to work," Joey said. "It's been over a century since this thing's last been used."

Right as he said that, the doors slid open, revealing the darkened shaft behind them. They opened halfway before creaking to a stop.

"Huh, that's weird," Joey mumbled.

"What's weird?" Smokey asked.

"Usually there's a cart that you step in that brings you to different levels.

"Where is it?"

"No idea."

Smokey took a step closer to the elevator, casting light into the shaft. He could make out the top of it and two steel wires hanging from ceiling. The bottom remained covered in darkness and hidden from sight.

"How far do you think this thing goes?" Smokey wondered.

"Let's find out," Joey said. For a moment, Smokey thought his friend was going to jump into the abyss. Instead, the Pikachu pushed a large piece of rubble over the edge. They heard it clatter along the bottom after many silent seconds.

"I know I'm pointing out the obvious here, but that seems like a very long way down," Smokey said uneasily. "We should just keep looking for that computer elsewhere, right?" he switched his gaze from the shaft to Joey. He instantly became much more worried. The Pikachu was staring at one of the wires with a familiar look. "Oh no... I know that face, Joey. You always look like that when you're going to do something stupid."

"I'm not gonna do anything stupid," Joey said, and for a moment, Smokey relaxed. "I'm just gonna jump to one of those wires and climb down. It's no big deal."

"Oh, okay," Smokey said. Then he realized what Joey said. "Wait, no!"

He made to grab for his friend, but Joey had already jumped into the shaft. He grabbed onto one of the ropes and held on. It looked like his plan had worked, before the Pikachu suddenly plummeted into the darkness.

Joey screamed at the top of his lungs as he gained speed. He felt something rush past him in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding a collision. Just when he was sure that he was going to hit the ground, there was a loud clang from above and the wire went taut. The unexpected stop wrenched him from the wire. Lucky for Joey, he was barely a few feet from the ground and wasn't injured anymore from the fall.

He struggled to his feet on the metallic surface beneath him. The floor was tilted slightly, but not enough to make standing awkward. It was pitch black at the bottom of the shaft. Far above him, Joey could make out the faint light of Smokey's tail flame and the voice of his friend calling out to him.

"Holy crap! Joey, are you alright? Please tell me you're alright!"

"Yeah, I'm good, man," Joey yelled back up. "Did I ever mention how much I hate falling?"

"If you hate it so much, maybe you shouldn't jump into pits so often."

Joey scowled, but the expression was lost in the dark. He looked around him and couldn't see anything. Very carefully, he began to feel around with his foot. At one point he felt nothing beneath it and was relieved that he hadn't put any weight on it. He didn't wasn't to fall into another hole for the third time in an hour. After a few minutes, his foot nudged against the thing he was searching for. He wrapped his hand around the second wire and tugged. The line seemed to remain still.

"Are you the one that's making the wire vibrate?" he heard Smokey call down.

"Yeah," Joey confirmed. "Wait, how did you feel that?"

The Charmander was silent for a bit. "... because I'm climbing down it."

Out of all the answers he could have got, that one surprised Joey the most. It was then did he realize that the pinprick of light from Smokey's tail was not to side of the shaft. Instead, it was right above his head and slowly getting bigger.

"Why the hell are you climbing down?" Joey exclaimed. "There's nothing down here. It's a pit. And you call me stupid, yet you're the one climbing down after I nearly fell to my death."

"Don't worry about the line giving,"' Smokey yelled, his voice becoming strained. "A chunk of metal was attached to the end on the other line. When you fell, it got stuck in pulleys. It anchored the other wire so it should hold my weight."

Joey was slightly happier about the fall after hearing that. If he grabbed the other wire, he would have plunged without stopping.

He watched as the ball of light slowly got bigger as Smokey got closer. A few minutes later and his friend dropped next to him. His flame lit up the bottom of the elevator shaft, and Joey saw the details for the first time.

A few feet above the floor he could see that the wall went from being smooth to rough and rocky. He looked down and saw that the floor was a grid of overlapping steel bars, most likely used for support. What remained of a steel loop sat next to a jagged hole in the steel. It took a moment, but Joey finally realized what they were standing on.

"Smokey, you know how I said there's a carriage you ride in that should be in the elevator shaft?" Joey asked.

Smokey, who had been examining the metal and rock walls nervously, glanced at his friend. "Yeah, but you said that it was missing for some reason."

"It's not missing," Joey said. "We're standing on top of it."

The Charmander looked down at his feet and backed up, nearly tripping over a bar. His eyes drifted to the wall and the jagged portion that was so out of place among the smooth walls.

"How do you figure?" he asked.

"The wires supporting the elevator are well over a century old. They snapped and dropped the carriage. I think it punched through to the level below it, since the floor was also probably weakened by age."

"That makes sense, I guess," Smokey said.

Joey just groaned though. "No, it doesn't though," Smokey raised his equivalent of an eyebrow, prompting Joey to go on. "Why would there be a floor beneath the end of the elevator. It doesn't make sense. I mean, what's the point of having it?"

"There's a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense," Smokey said. "You can't know everything. How are you possibly going to figure out why they built an extra floor?"

"By exploring, of course," Joey grinned. That only made Smokey more uneasy. The Pikachu peered into the hole. Smokey's tail gave off just enough light to fill entirety of the metal box. The elevator's floor was littered with rubble and broken glass, and its surface was warped. The walls were bent inwards, making the already compact space even smaller. Falling from such a great height must have had the pancake effect on the carriage. The doors were jarred open, but there was not enough light to see into the abyss beyond the metal.

"Joey, come on, man," Smokey sounded like he was pleading. "You're smart. You know that this is a bad idea. Do the sensible thing."

And Joey did do the sensible thing. He jumped into the hole before Smokey could stop him. The glass on the floor didn't hurt him, and he looked back up at the Charmander with a sly grin. Smokey rolled his eyes and jumped down next to him.

"You're an idiot," he mumbled as he followed Joey out the elevator. They had to tread carefully down the pile of rubble the elevator was sitting on. The moment they stepped onto even ground, the entire room exploded. Well, it didn't actually explode. All the functioning lights turned on at once, blinding the two Pokémon. Unfortunately, the sudden surge of light burst most of the ancient bulbs, leaving only a few intact and working.

"That's not ominous at all," Joey said, rubbing his eyes. He recovered faster from the glare than Smokey and gasped at what he saw.

The room was full of machines, most of which were still in operation. They filled the air with a mechanical buzz, making it seem like the whole room was vibrating. Three of the four walls were mostly filled with contraptions, with the exception of a gap for an emergency exit. The other was dominated by a massive glass window. The glass was dirty, so Joey could only make out a faint outline of a something huge behind it. He approached the glass cautiously, all too aware of his friend not following him. He got to the glass and wiped the grime away for a better look. The sight took his breath away.

"Smokey," Joey croaked, his voice not working, "Smokey, you gotta come see this."

He looked back and saw that the Charmander hadn't moved from the elevator. He also noticed the extent of the damage done to the carriage. It looked like a partially crushed can. The top was half covered by the hole in the ceiling, due to the fact that it was resting on unevenly on a four foot pile of rubble.

Smokey fixed him with a fearful glance. The more they explored the facility, the more it freaked him out. He approached the window nervously. When he peered inside, he backed away quickly from the glass.

A massive device sat in the middle of pristine white room. It couldn't have been touched in ages, yet it still looked brand new. The machine looked like some scientists decided to build a comically large cartoon death-ray. It reminded Joey of a giant, forty-foot metal ice cream cone, the tip touching the ground. Wires hung from the machine, running along the ceiling and walls. Some supported it, others fed it power, while a few ran into the room Joey was in. A faint blue glow emanated from the massive structure.

"That's- that-What is that?" he stammered. He took a better look. "It's bigger than any building in town!"

"Something that big definitely doesn't have a good purpose," Joey said, and jutted a finger behind his back. "But I'm willing to bet that the computer over there might be able to tell us what it is."

* * *

_**A/N:** Sorry, I split another chapter. I didn't want another going past the 8000 word mark (Busting the Op was nearly 9000). I split this so it wasn't 10000+. _


	28. MD Pulse

Smokey followed Joey's finger to a computer by the window. Though he never saw one, he recognized it from Joey's description. The Pikachu was already climbing into the chair by the time Smokey joined him. He climbed onto the desk and Joey took a seat by the keyboard.

"Okay, we found the computer. Now what?" Smokey asked, realizing that it was Joey who would be doing most of the work.

"First, we need to turn it on," he said. He pressed a button on the monitor and the screen instantly came to life. Joey jumped back from the sudden light and fell off the table.

"You okay?" Smokey asked, looking over the edge.

"Yeah, I'm good," Joey groaned as he pulled himself back onto the table. "I just wasn't expecting that to turn on so fast."

"What did you expect to happen when you pushed the 'on' button?"

"Of course I expected it to turn on, dumbass," Joey snapped, rubbing his bandaged head. "The last one took a minute to power up after I pushed the button."

Smokey glanced around the room nervously, hoping that they were still alone. Joey was pressing some keys behind him, filling the room with clicks. He looked back at the Pikachu when he swore. "What's wrong now?"

"I don't know the password," Joey grumbled, glaring at the screen.

"How did you get in last time?"

"I guessed."

"So why not guess again?"

"I did!" he slammed the keyboard in frustration. "I tried the same one, but it wasn't right. There's literally millions of possibilities it could be."

"We'll just find a different computer if you can't figure out the password to this one," Smokey suggested.

Joey let out a humourless laugh. "Just find another one? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why not?" Smokey shot back.

"It was hard enough to find this one, and we had to fall down a giant hole to get to it," he pointed to the elevator as if to remind him of the fall. "The only way out is climbing up that giant hole, a feat that will take a long time to do. In case you've forgotten, we don't have much time. We probably only got ten minutes left before the next pulse, maybe fifteen if we're lucky, which we never are. This computer is literally our last hope of stopping this thing from going off."

"Well, sorry for trying to help," Smokey said, a trail of smoke coming from his nose. "At least I'm trying to think of something, unlike you who's just whining."

"I am trying to think," Joey said through gritted teeth. "I got it by luck last time. The password to the other computer was password."

"If it was that simple the first time then why don't you try another easy one?" Smokey said. "The password for this one could be one through five."

"Passwords are usually six letters," Joey mumbled.

"Then how about one through six?"

Joey stared at the keyboard, then at the Charmander then back at the keyboard. "Why not?" he sighed. "It's worth a try."

He typed in the numbers and pressed _enter_. He honestly didn't expect it to work, so it was a very pleasant surprise when it logged in. The screen changed to the same snowy background.

"You're a genius, Smokey," Joey laughed.

"I know I am," Smokey said. "But you're the computer expert. You have to figure out what to do now."

The smile soon faded from Joey's face as he scanned the icons. There were a lot more of them than on the last computer. He opened a few of the newer one in hopes that they would contain useful information. All he found was technical reports that might have been helpful if he could understand what he was reading.

He saw the _Extremely Important_ icon again and skipped over it. If that one was there, maybe this computer had some of the other folders he saw on the previous one. After a few seconds of searching, he found the folder he was looking for. He clicked on the icon labelled _News_, opening a new window.

Immediately, he was greeted with hundreds of headlines. The news it was talking about must be from around the world. He stared at the dates and the same sense of unease came back. The most recent one was from 2076, and the computer still said that it was over a hundred years old. Something must be wrong with the system's data. There was no way it could have been that long. He started scrolling through the contents of the folder, trying to find some proof, some sort of reassurance that the computer was wrong.

Smokey was unaware that Joey was searching through old news records. He could feel the atmosphere become tenser, but his unease came from a different source. He knew they weren't alone in the facility. The same presence from three nights ago was still here. He watched the elevator shaft carefully, waiting for the shadow creature to pop out at any second.

"No..."

Smokey's attention switched to Joey, who gawked at the screen. The Charmander had no idea what the words meant. Joey recognized the words instantly. The date of the headline would be burned into the back of his mind for the rest of his life.

August 28, 2061. It was a week before his first day of high school. It was also the last day he was alive as a human. He clicked the link. The headline didn't surprise him, since he'd already feared what it would say.

_Local boy fatally stabbed in alley_ was shown in bold letters. Below the headline was a picture of four boys, all smiling widely at the camera. He couldn't bring himself to read the article. There was already too much pain from seeing his old friends. He couldn't bear to read the details of his own death, not when he remembered it so vividly. A message at the top of the screen caught his eye again.

_File is approximately 134 years old_.

He closed the window before he could it could reveal anymore horrible truths. He had been avoiding the reality of his situation since he saw the first message. He tried to tell himself that it was just a malfunction, but deep down inside he knew it was the truth. The despair had been growing inside of him all day, and it reached its max when he knew he couldn't lie to himself any longer.

A claw rested on his shoulder as the tears started to flow. "Joey, what's wrong?"

Joey looked over at the concerned face of Smokey. The question filled him with bitter humour. He couldn't tell Smokey what was actually wrong. The truth would either sound ridiculous or make his best friend hate his guts.

"You wouldn't understand," Joey mumbled, choking back a sob.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure you'll be alright," Smokey said, trying badly to reassure his friend. How could he say that everything would be alright? Nothing could possibly bring Joey's life back to even being sort of normal.

The truth, as unbelievable as it was, hit Joey hard. Nearly a century and half had managed to pass during the few seconds Joey thought he was dead for. It didn't make a shred of sense to him, but he just knew it was true.

"Joey, I know you're upset, but you've got to keep working," Smokey said. Joey felt angered by the Charmander's persistence at first. The feeling faded quickly when he noticed his tone of voice. It sounded more like a plea, and there was no mistaking the panic his voice carried. He looked over and saw the fear in Smokey's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Joey asked carefully, his voice hoarse.

Smokey glanced to the elevator. "It's nothing, just... please get back to work."

"What's wrong?" Joey said, adding more force to his voice.

The Charmander's breathing increased. He locked eyes with Joey and he felt an unspoken message pass between them. It was one of absolute terror.

"I didn't want to tell you this before," Smokey's voice was shaky. "There were two reasons why I climbed down after you. The first was because you couldn't see down there and something important might've been hidden, so you'd need my flame to see..."

"... And the other?" Joey asked fearfully.

"When you were at the bottom of the shaft, I... I wasn't alone at the top. The... the _thing_ I saw the other night was watching me from the shadows. I panicked and jumped into the darkness to get away. I thought I lost it, but..."

Smokey trailed off again, staring at the elevator fearfully. His eyes were like saucers and his body was shaking.

"But what?"

Smokey swallowed the lump in his throat "... but I think it followed us."

Joey slowly turned his head to the elevator. His blood turned to ice.

Behind the doors he could see two burning red eyes. It was too dark to make out any shape of a body, but if Smokey was right, it didn't have one. Joey let out a pathetic whimper. His whole body went rigid with fear.

"We need to get out of here," Smokey whispered. His voice was deathly quiet.

"No," Joey said.

Smokey looked at him as if he was crazy. Maybe Joey was crazy, but after just finding out that there was no chance of returning to his old life, something just clicked in his mind. He had left his family and friends with a huge burden, and he wasn't going to let that happen again.

"No, we got a job to do," he said in a louder voice. "We're not gonna let some shadow creature stop us from doing it."

"Joey, we don't know what that thing can do," Smokey said. "It could be some super powerful Pokémon that could kill us! Let's get out of here."

"Keep it away from us and I'll work on the computer," Joey ordered.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Smokey demanded.

"It hides in the shadows," Joey grinned slightly, "so get rid of them."

Smokey's eyes widened as he understood what Joey was talking about. He was still scared out of his mind, but he steeled his nerves and jumped off the table. A jet of flame burst from his mouth and into the elevator. When they cleared, the carriage was empty. The being was gone for now. Smokey knew it would be back soon. A more permanent solution was needed for keeping the room bright. He started to scrounge for anything flammable.

While Smokey was keeping the shadow creature at bay, Joey was searching frantically through files. The folders on the desktop proved to contain nothing useful so he had moved onto the entire documents section. He thought it would be easier to navigate, and boy, was he wrong.

It seemed like every shred of data in the entire facility had been saved on this one computer. Thousands of folders, with even more inside, were shown on screen. It would be impossible to search each one to find what he was looking for. He would need a faster way and more efficient way to search. His eyes shifted to the search bar.

He typed in the word _experiments_ and hit enter. A loading bar came up and after a few seconds, pulled the results. There were over a thousand. He tried the phrase _lab experiments_ and received a hundred and thirty results. That was still too general apparently. There had to be a more specific phrase. He remembered what the countdown was called and typed in _M.D. pulse experiment_. One result came up, a folder marked _pulse experiments_ and he instantly clicked it.

The computer gave him fifty or so documents. They weren't given any particular order, so Joey had to read every title to see if it was the item he was looking for. He made it to the end on the window without finding any document that was listed as M.D. Pulse.

No, it couldn't be a dead end. He scanned through the contents again and got the same results. There simply was no entry under that name. That name... maybe it stood for something. He began to search again, finally finding a file with the same initials. It was simply called Mystery Dungeon and he clicked on it after a moment of hesitation. He just had time to wonder what that was when it loaded, filling the screen with a bunch of scientific data.

At first he thought it was another thing he couldn't understand, that maybe he chose the wrong file. Those notions were soon proven false by something he found in the corner. It was a digital readout, with a message saying that the pulse was going to fire in the specified amount of time.

"Uh-oh," Joey said when he noticed how much time was left.

"Uh-oh? What's 'uh-oh?'" Smokey asked.

Joey turned around so he faced Smokey. He noticed that his friend had lined up debris in a semi-circle around the computer. He couldn't tell what it was in the darkness. The circle encased a small part of the room, including the exit.

"I just found the countdown," Joey said.

"How's that bad?" Smokey questioned. "Wait, how much time is left?"

Joey glanced back at the monitor. "About a hundred."

"A hundred what? Minutes? Hours?"

"Seconds."

"WHAT?" Smokey exclaimed, climbing onto the desk. In the corner of the screen, he noticed the countdown. While human letters were different, they shared the same set of numbers. Just as Joey said, the clock was ticking down. "How do we stop it?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Joey said. His eyes flicked back and forth across the screen. "All I'm seeing is random stuff that I don't understand!"

"Don't skip over it," Smokey said. "It could be important."

"None of it relates to shutting it down! It only describes what the pulse does, not how to stop it."

A shiver ran down Smokey's spine, and he had a feeling it wasn't due to the countdown. Slowly, he switched his gaze to the elevator.

"Joey," he croaked, "it's back."

The fur stood up on Joeys back. He turned around and saw the red eyes watching them from the confines of the carriage. "I thought you said you got rid of it."

"I did," Smokey said, "and I'm going to get rid of it again."

He launched a fireball. This time, it didn't hit the door, but was aimed at the debris on the floor. As soon as the fire came into contact, the waste burst into flames. A line of fire soon separated the Pokémon from the shadow creature.

Smokey cheered triumphantly. "Hah! That should hold him off."

"Smokey," Joey said quietly, "you do realize we're underground, right?"

The Charmander's grin faded. "Yeah, so?"

"Fire feeds off oxygen," Joey groaned, face-palming.

"Oh... I didn't know that," Smokey said quietly.

"How could you not know that?" Joey exclaimed. "Now we're gonna suffocate." He looked back at the clock. "Aw crap! Less than a minute left!"

"Quick, do something!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!"

Joey quickly began to scan the file, muttering under his breath. "... Cognitive decay... loss of reasoning... distortion of time and space... something I can't pronounce... blah blah blah..."

Smokey risked another glance at the fire. He could still see a pair of eyes glowing from behind the flames. He was about to turn away when he noticed another pair from the elevator. And another next to it. He scanned the entire room, realizing that it was full of glowing red eyes and disembodied figures, all of which were watching the two friends from behind the flames.

"Joey," his voice was hardly a whisper. "There's more of them."

The Pikachu whipped around, crying out in fright at the scene. "Oh, you got to be shitting me!"

"Don't focus on them," Smokey said, his eyes wild. He was close to breaking down from panic and he couldn't let that happen to Joey. "Focus on stopping this thing. There's only thirty seconds left!"

"I already reached the end of the file!" Joey yelled, his voice already filled with panic. "There's nothing here. It doesn't say how to stop it!"

The two friends went quiet, but it was far from silent in the underground room. The fire roared, Smokey's heart thumped against his ribcage and you could almost hear the gears clicking in Joey's brain. The machine's humming was growing louder, the soft blue glow becoming stronger.

"Well, we're screwed then," Smokey muttered, watching as the countdown passed fifteen.

'_No, we're not screwed_,' Joey thought. _'There's always a solution, you just have to figure it out for yourself. Even if it takes a long time, you can find it. But you don't have much time, so you may have to use a shortcut. All you need is... is a...'_

"A shortcut!" Joey suddenly exclaimed.

"What're you talking about?" Smokey asked, his voice filling with fear as more shadow creatures filled the room.

"Computers have shortcuts where you press a series of keys to perform a task," Joey explained excitedly. "That's what we need to do."

"Do you know it? Smokey asked, his hope returning.

Joey's heart fell. "No..."

Smokey swore loudly. "Stop getting my hopes up like that!"

Joey stared at the screen. Ten seconds remained, and he needed to find a way to cancel the countdown. He looked at the buttons. A quick way to log out was _ctrl-alt -delete_. He tried _ctrl-alt-'C' _in hopes of it cancelling the program. Nothing happened. He needed a different word to use. He tried the same combination, but with 'T' for _terminate_ and 'S' for _stop_. None of them worked. His hope for stopping it was almost gone as the countdown passed five.

He needed another word for cancel.

Four seconds left.

Destroy? No, that didn't seem right.

Three seconds.

Prevent? Still wasn't the right term.

Two seconds were left on the clock when the answer clicked in his head. Abort. He smashed down on _ctrl-alt-A _as the readout struck one.

The whole screen became paler. Joey was frozen, staring wide-eyed at the screen. Slowly, a grin started to form on his face.

"Did it work?" Smokey asked quietly, cringing as if he was expecting the worse.

"I think so," Joey laughed. "I think I stopped it!"

He looked at Smokey. It took a few seconds for the message to sink in. A smile appeared on the Charmander's face and he looked directly at the Pikachu. They suddenly burst into cheers, Smokey wrapping his smaller friend a huge hug. Despite the fire blazing behind them and smoke slowly filling the room, the two Pokémon were happier than ever.

Joey pulled away from his friend and looked back at the screen. His shoulders slumped.

"It requires a password," Joey whimpered, staring at the new window that popped up.

"_Another_ one?" Smokey could hardly believe it. They could _not_ catch a break today. "Can't we just leave it paused so it won't fire again?"

"No," Joey said. "If you don't enter a password in five minutes it starts the program again anyways. We'll have to guess it again."

"Oh, man, I have a bad feeling about this," Smokey muttered. "There's no way it can be as simple as 'Password' again."

"That's what I was thinking," Joey groaned, burying his face in his hands. A thought sprung to mind and he turned to his friend. "Smokey... do you trust me?"

Smokey was taken by surprise by this question. "Of course I trust you. You're my best friend."

"No, I meant, do you trust me with your life?"

Joey looked extremely pained when he asked this. Smokey was going to instantly say yes, but he hesitated. Did he really trust Joey with his life? They had been friends for a little over a week now. During that time he had saved his life on countless occasions and helped him through many tough situations. Now he looked like he was planning something bad, something that could get them both killed.

He looked his friend dead in the eye. "Yes, I trust you with my life. You've always gotten us out of tough spots before. I have no reason to believe it'll be different this time."

"Thanks," Joey smiled weakly, "I'll try not to get us killed."

"Yeah, you better," Smokey said.

Joey quickly typed something into the bar. It came up as a row of dots. He glanced at his friend before taking a deep breath and pressing enter. The screen paled for the second time. Joey held his breath, not wanting to get his hopes up. As more time went by, the more he began to believe. A new window popped up and the screen returned to normal.

_Password rejected_.

"NO!" Joey shouted, slamming his fist on the keyboard. "It didn't work."

"We can just try again, can't we?" Smokey asked. He realized that the look on Joey's face was becoming one of fear.

_Password rejected. Program resuming in ten seconds_.

"Smokey..."

"Yeah?"

"Run."

Smokey didn't ask why this time. He jumped off the desk with Joey and they sprinted straight for the exit. The machine was now like a massive blue light bulb, but they didn't pay attention to it. They barrelled past the blaze and the red eyes and burst through the door, being greeted by a staircase on the other side.

No prompting was needed. Whatever was at the top of the stairs was a better than anything underground. The friends ran up the stairs, adrenaline coursing through their veins. Even though the stairs were meant for humans, they climbed them with ease, sometimes even managing to clear two at once. After the fifth flight, an earthquake rocked the building. It was so strong, Joey fell down to the previous platform.

There was a horrible cracking noise as the whole structure shook. Joey looked down at the concrete below him and saw little fractures forming.

"Smokey, the stairwell's gonna collapse!" Joey yelled to his friend. "Run for your life!"

Despite the obvious warning, the Charmander waited for his friend to catch up. Together, they ran up the stairs, chunks of rock falling from above. Stairs crumbled beneath their feet, threatening to pitch them into the darkness below. Smoke from the fire mixed with the dust to make breathing difficult.

They landed on the last platform, the stairs behind crumbling into oblivion. Their lungs were burning but they couldn't stop for a rest. The ground beneath them was already starting to crumble. They resumed the run, made all the more harder that their path was already falling into the abyss. Smokey reached the door first, hitting it with so much force that it knocked it off the hinges partially so it hung awkwardly.

Joey ran faster, but he wasn't quite fast enough. The last few steps dissolved beneath him and he was sent into a free fall. He thought he was going to die until a claw grabbed onto his tail. He looked up and saw the Smokey had nearly jumped in to save him, holding onto the frame with one hand and Joey with the other. With a sudden burst of strength, he pulled them both up and onto solid ground.

The two of them collapsed on the ground, gulping in fresh air. Joey looked back at where they came from. The staircase was hidden in what looked like an old wooden shack, smaller than Smokey's house. Seeing it made Joey even surer that the underground room was supposed to stay hidden. He kept the thought to himself when he turned to face Smokey.

"How you doing, man?" he asked.

"We found an underground bunker with a mysterious machine, were nearly scared to death by shadow creatures, failed to stop the pulse from going off and we almost just died," Smokey said in one breath after a moment of hesitation. "After all that though, I think I'm doing just fine."

"I can't tell if that was sarcastic or sincere," Joey grinned, giving a weak chuckle.

"It was a little of both," Smokey said, pulling himself into a sitting position. "We should get home. It's not getting any lighter out, and all those things down there really makes me crave the safety of my shack."

Joey felt obligated to tell his friend that maybe their house wasn't as safe as he thought. He couldn't bring himself to do it, not because he wanted to spare his friends feelings, but because he was simply too tired. The day's events had really drained him, and it was a struggle simply not to fall asleep in the grass. Regardless of his tiredness, he sat himself upright.

"Yeah, I think I can sleep for another three days," he said. His stomach growled. "But first, we should eat something."

"Heh, I forgot about your appetite," Smokey laughed. He stood up and stretched his limbs, helping Joey up soon after. They were just about to leave when a familiar voice called out from the sky.

"Hey, guys! Wait up!"

Joey looked over at his friend. "Is that who I think it is?"

"I think so," Smokey said, turning his gaze over to the sky.

The moon was hidden behind the clouds, but enough light penetrated them to allow the duo to see the sky. Amongst the grey sky, a small silhouette grew bigger and bigger as it called out to them. It wasn't long before the shape of a Butterfree became distinguishable from the shadows.

"Jade?" Smokey shouted in disbelief. "I thought you were in the hospital."

"They let me out early," she said in her bubbly tone. "Turns out you can't keep a patient who has nothing wrong with them."

"How did you even find us?" Joey asked, the third team member landing next to them. "This place is huge. How did you even know that we were here?"

"Oh, I asked around town after seeing that the house was empty," Jade explained. "By the way, it's so good to see you awake, Joey. I was really worried about you. And Smokey, I'm kinda curious as to why the front door is busted. It looks like someone kicked it open from the inside, 'cause it's nearly split in half and hanging off one hinge."

Smokey's face was a hilarious mix of confusion and surprise. He looked over at Joey for an explanation, who quickly changed the subject.

"So, Jade, who told you where to find us?" he said hastily.

"Someone told me you ran off in this direction, and I got a hunch that you were here. You know, after the countdown business I was sure you were eager to investigate," she said, fluttering her wings nervously. "I'm guessing it wasn't so successful, judging by the earthquake and the fact that a few buildings collapsed."

Smokey and Joey exchanged horrified glances. An earthquake that strong must have done some serious damage to the town. This didn't go unnoticed by Jade.

"You guys willing to tell me what happened?"

"Do we have a story for you," Joey said and jumped into the tale. It took a surprisingly short amount of time to finish. They only recounted the most important parts, like the shadow creatures, the pulse machine and that they failed to stop the earthquake. Details like Joey's fall, Smokey's blunder with fire and Joey's other fall were conveniently left out of the story.

"Whoa," was all she managed to say. She shook her head. "Now I'm really glad you're alright. You could have died in there!"

"We really don't need to be reminded," Joey mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Well, we're alive, so let's head home," Smokey finally said. "I think we all can use some well needed rest."

"Yeah, I'm exhausted from today," Jade said, adding a yawn for effect. "How about we cut through Tiny Woods?"

Smokey's face showed that he didn't like the idea. Joey wasn't too fond of it either, since the shadows of the forest could easily hide more of the shadow creatures. His tired body needed sleep though, so Jade's idea agreed with him.

"Yeah, let's just cut through," he said. "You practically live in there, we won't get lost."

"Fine, we'll skip the path," Smokey said, giving up. "What's the worst that can happen?"

Jade and Smokey made their way into the woods, oblivious to the fact that Joey hadn't moved, his jaw on the floor.

"You never say that," he groaned and quickly caught up to them.

As they entered the woods, Joey's eyesight blurred horribly. Everything went out of focus, the colours all mixing into an indistinct blob. A tingling sensation passed through him, like his whole body had fallen asleep. For a moment, Joey thought he was going to pass out from exhaustion. Then, his vision cleared, the tingling sensation stopped and he stepping into line, promptly running into Smokey's back.

His friends had stopped, staring at the sky in astonishment. Joey did so too, and was greeted by pure beauty. He could see the moon clearly, just a sliver a light in the blackness. That wasn't the sight that attracted him the most.

The sky was covered in little pinpricks of light, densely packed in clusters of light. He gazed in wonder at the stars, twinkling far above him. Someone once told him that you could see shapes in them. He didn't know any. Growing up in a thriving metropolis means that it's always bright out, even at night. The moon was the only thing that he could see at night. This was the first time he'd laid eyes on the stars.

While he was enthralled by their beauty, a thought kept nagging at the back of his mind. He realized that he shouldn't be seeing the stars. When he entered the forest, the entire sky was covered in a blanket of clouds, and the moon was bigger than the sliver it was now. Judging by looks on his friends' faces, they had noticed the oddity as well.

"I'm not just seeing things, am I?" Jade whispered. Both her teammates shook their heads. "Well, that's a relief... kinda. Not really actually, I'm still really confused,"

"Yeah, this makes no sense," Smokey said, glancing around at their surroundings. His face grew more and more worried. Before Joey could ask what else was wrong, a shriek came from behind them. They all spun in the direction they had entered, which had been replaced by forest.

"What was that?" Joey asked to no one particular. "And where did it come from?"

"It sounded like a Pidgey to me," Smokey responded. "But, it sounded like it was coming from outside the forest, yet it still sounded muffled by a lot of trees."

Soon, another shriek was heard. Several more joined it and soon the whole forest was ringing with the howls of Pokémon, all coming from where they were staring.

"Smokey, I think you just found the worst possible thing that could happen," Joey said, taking a step back. The howls were getting louder. Sounds of many things crashing through the brush were becoming all the more clearer. Whatever was making that noise was heading right for them. A sudden, terribly loud shriek split through the other howls.

"RUN!" all three members shouted at once. They whipped around and fled deeper into the forest. No plan was in place, other than not letting whatever was behind them catch up.

* * *

_**A/N**: one chapter left..._


	29. The Effects

"Come one, guys, hurry up!" Jade shouted far ahead of the two Pokémon behind her. "They're gaining on us!"

"Easy enough for you to say!" Joey yelled between breaths. "You got wings!"

The chase had been going on for a while, and Joey knew that he and Smokey were exhausted. After running for so long, his legs were burning and his heart was ready to explode. Despite his fatigue, Joey knew the Butterfree was right.

The howls were getting closer by the second, and he and Smokey weren't fast enough to outrun them forever. Many things were chasing after them, crashing through the forest behind Team Spartan. Joey had a feeling that he would rather take on the shadow creatures than whatever was following them.

Up ahead, Jade disappeared from view. She didn't go behind a tree or anything. One moment she was there and the next she vanished into thin air. It was like the forest swallowed her whole.

Smokey stopped in his tracks, Joey plowing into him from behind.

"Why'd you stop?" he exclaimed, eyes bulging with fear. "We have to get going, _now_!"

"But she just disappeared," Smokey mumbled, staring where Jade was. "What if we end up disappearing too?"

"What if let whatever's chasing us catch up?" Joey countered. The howls got even louder, as if they sensed that the friends stopped. "I'm sure whatever's on our tails is a hell of a lot worse than the chance of disappearing."

Joey tried to convince himself that Jade vanishing was just a trick the forest. They were tired, so they didn't see her pass through a bush or something. Regardless of the reason, nothing would be able to convince Joey to wait for the unseen force to catch up. He started to run again, forcing Smokey to follow or be left behind.

As he passed the spot where Jade disappeared, a strange tingle seemed to wash over his body. It was the exact same sensation he felt when they entered Tiny Woods. He barely had time to register the feeling. Once it passed, his eyesight became extremely blurry really fast. When it refocused, the scene in front of him changed, and he ran into the purple body of Jade. They fell to the ground in a heap, with Smokey soon joining the heap.

Joey pulled himself out of the pile and prepared to start running again, but stopped when he noticed something was off.

The forest was strangely quiet. No howling came from behind them. No branches or leaves were being trampled. Not even a slight breeze disturbed the trees. The only noise came from the three Pokémon's heavy breathing. He looked up and noticed that the sky had a few clouds drifting by, occasionally blocking out the form of the half moon.

"What in the world is going on?" Jade said. The tone of terror in her voice was subtle but noticeable. She was also gazing at the night sky.

"I honestly have no idea," Joey responded. "What do you make of this, Smokey?"

He looked over at his Charmander friend when he didn't respond. He noticed that the fire type wasn't looking up at the sky, rather into the palm of his hand.

"What's that?" Jade asked, peering over his shoulder.

Smokey shrugged and opened his palm so the others could get a better look. "I've never seen anything like it."

It was small, teardrop shaped seed. It had a deep red colour, like Manac's armour, and a symbol etched into it. A small flame had been engraved in the seed. Why it was there or who did it eluded Joey. He took the seed from Smokey's hand turned it over, finding the same flame symbol on the back too.

"This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Smokey mumbled. As to emphasize his point, a huge _caw_ came from the trees. The trio collectively flinched and got into a battle stance.

"Looks like we didn't actually escape them," Joey said. For a brief moment, the forest was silent.

With another caw, a Pidgey burst from one of the trees. It did a wide loop and dived at the group. Smokey blasted a fire ball at its face, but it rolled out of the way at the last second. He ducked to avoid the bird's sharp beak, only to have its talons rake across his back.

Jade turned, planning to knock the bird out with sleep powder. Instead, the Pidgey tore through her left wing. Blue blood spurted from the wound and Jade collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain.

Joey had never felt so useless in a battle. He could only watch as his friends went down. They were both conscious, but their wounds seemed really painful. Smokey struggled to his feet, wincing as the cuts on his back stretched. Jade wobbled dangerously on feet, staying out of the air. Only Joey was in a suitable condition to fight.

If the concussion wasn't blocking most of his electricity, maybe he could actually do something. No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't muster enough of a charge for a proper lightning bolt. He clenched his fists in anger, the Pidgey circling around for another attack. After all they'd been through, Joey was not going to allow his team to be defeated by a stupid bird. He did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

He hurled the seed at the bird's face.

The Pidgey opened its beak to caw again and the seed soared into its open mouth. What happened next would stick in Joey's dreams for many weeks to come.

There was a deafening _bang_, and in an instant, the Pidgey's head was replaced by a cloud of blood and feathers. The carcass fell to the ground by their feet, the mess splattering them with entrails. All three just stared at the body in shock.

"Well, that was unexpected," Joey said, snapping everyone out of the daze.

"What did you do?" Smokey stared at him with revulsion.

"I... I threw the seed and its head just..." Joey put his hands on his head and moved them away, mimicking sounds of an explosion.

"You didn't have to kill it," Jade said in a small voice.

"I didn't mean to," Joey protested.

"You blew its head up! What did you think was going to happen?" Smokey demanded, smoke coming from his nose.

"I didn't know it was gonna explode when I threw the seed!" Joey exclaimed, starting to get angry too. He glanced at the headless corpse, shuddering when he realized he could see the thing's stomach. "Can we... can we just leave? I don't wanna be here any longer. This thing is creeping me out."

"Hold on," Jade said. She picked something out of Joey's scalp and flung it away. "Sorry. You had a piece of skull stuck to your bandage."

Joey may have thrown up at that information, had there been anything in his stomach. He quickly picked out any other chunks of brain or feathers from his fur in disgust.

They turned to leave, stopping when they realized Smokey wasn't following. He was staring at the body, breathing heavily like he might cry. Joey thought about saying something to cheer his friend up when Smokey suddenly unleashed an intense jet of flame at the corpse. The fire cleared and a smoldering pile of ash had replaced the body.

"I couldn't leave it to rot," Smokey mumbled, joining his confused friends. The three continued trudging through the woods in silence. They didn't have to run anymore since whatever was chasing them decided to stop. That calmness gave Joey time to think about fight. Something seemed wrong with the Pidgey, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Guys, did you notice anything weird about that fight?" he finally asked.

"You mean despite its unprovoked attack?" Smokey responded. Joey nodded. "Can't say I did."

"The bird seemed crazy," Jade mumbled. Her friends turned to her.

"We kinda realized that already," Joey said.

"No, I mean it acted strange during the fight," Jade said. "It just kept attacking so aggressively, like it wasn't thinking. And it had a wild look in its eyes. I don't really know how to describe it. It was, like, the Pidgey wasn't a thinking being like us. Does that make sense?"

"You mean like it was primal?" Smokey asked.

"Yeah, that sounds right."

Joey stared at the sky. The canopy wasn't thick in Tiny Woods, though where they were walking it was completely open. The lack of leaves and branches gave them a clear view of the night sky.

"You noticed that the sky changed, right?" he said, looking over at Jade.

She looked up too. "Yeah, it was right after that tingling sensation that I saw it. The moon went from being a sliver to half."

"And the clouds weren't there either."

"Guys, stop," Smokey said suddenly. Jade and Joey turned around, just realizing how far the Charmander was lagging behind. He was standing at the edge of the clearing, looking at them with a serious face.

"Why? Is our conversation bothering you?" Jade asked.

"No, you were just about to walk into a giant hole," Smokey answered. His response made both of them to spin around and look at the ground. Joey instantly became glad that Smokey warned them quickly. He was standing on the edge of a huge crack in the ground. Joey didn't like the thought of falling again, especially because he couldn't see the bottom of the pit.

"This shouldn't be here," Smokey said, walking further into the clearing.

"I know, cracks like this are serious problems," Jade said, staring into the crevice.

"No, I mean this particular crack shouldn't be here," Smokey corrected.

"Okay... you lost me," Joey said.

"Doesn't this place look a little familiar to you, Joey?"

The Pikachu examined their surroundings. It was a small clearing, and the fissure extended almost all the way across it. There was a lack of many defining features, but Joey got the feeling he'd been there before.

"Is this the same place where we rescued Parvo?" he asked, the answer clicking into place.

Smokey nodded. "That's why I'm confused. We ran really far, we should've passed this by now."

"We were running in a blind panic," Jade reminded him. "Maybe we weren't travelling in a straight line, so it took longer for us to get here."

"Maybe," Smokey muttered. Joey could tell that he wasn't entirely convinced yet.

"Look, how about we just get going again?" he suggested. "This isn't the first oddity today, and it's by far the least messed up thing we've come across. We should focus on getting out of this forest."

Thankfully, his friends agreed. They bypassed the crevice and re-entered the woods. It wasn't long before another question popped into Joey's mind.

"Smokey, how big is Tiny Woods?" he asked.

"Not that big," Smokey responded. "They call is 'tiny' for a reason."

"That's what I thought," Joey said, "but when we ran to the plant, it didn't take too long. We got there in, like, fifteen minutes."

"You see why I'm confused by the fissure?" Smokey said, "We're still stuck in the middle of the forest since we just passed it."

"Hey, you smell that?" Jade suddenly asked.

Joey stopped and sniffed the air. He couldn't smell anything except the normal forest smells. "No, it still smells pretty bad."

"It smells really tasty," Jade said, almost wistfully. "Like a combination of all the flavours."

Joey glanced at Smokey, who shrugged his shoulders. Maybe Jade was just imagining the smell because she was hungry. It didn't matter what the reason was. The Butterfree suddenly sprinted into the woods, leaving the other two friends no choice but to follow her.

She was surprisingly fast on foot, despite one of her wings being torn. Joey was only able to chase her because of the noise she was making and the occasional spot of blue blood. A couple metres ahead of him, he saw her by a bush that was full of bright blue berries. She was gorging on them happily. Joey watched in morbid fascination as her torn wing, which had a huge chuck ripped out of it, slowly began to mend. New tissue came from nowhere, slowly reforming her wing.

Joey ran up to the bush, his hunger overpowering him. He stuffed three berries into his mouth, relishing the burst of flavour that followed. His mind started to clear and he felt a trickle of energy. The berries must have healed the concussion slightly, allowing him better use of his electrical attacks.

"No... no, this isn't right," he heard Smokey mumble from behind him. Joey turned, surprised by the look of horror on his friend's face. After all they'd been through today, you would think that a berry bush would be the least scary thing they had come across. The look on Smokey's face showed otherwise.

"Dude, it's just a bunch of fruit," Joey said, swallowing what was in his mouth. "There's nothing sinister about it."

"There's nothing wrong with the fruit," Smokey insisted. "The location of it's wrong. An Oran bush never existed in this part of the forest. I know the location of the only one in the entirety of Tiny Woods, and it's right next to my house."

Jade seemed put off by this slightly, but Joey was brightened. "That's great news! That means we're getting closer, right?"

Smokey shook his head. "This isn't where Daya planted it. She placed it in between two maple trees that were only a few metres from my house. You could still see my house from where the bush was."

"Maybe a new one grew that you didn't know about," Joey suggested.

"That's akmost to impossible," Jade said.

"What do you mean?"

The Butterfree fluttered her wings. "Oran bushes don't just grow in the ground. You need a seed to be able to grow one. Finding a bush like this in the wild is very rare."

"Of course you need a seed to grow a plant," Joey said, still not understanding what his friends were talking about. "I don't know much about plants, but that one's obvious."

"Open one of the berries and pull out a seed," Smokey told him.

Joey didn't have any idea what the fuss was about. He grabbed a berry and split it open. All he saw was blue flesh. He picked it apart until its juice stained his hands and the berry was no more than paste. There was no seed to be found. He grabbed another fruit and repeated the process, getting the same results.

"Oran seeds are extremely rare to come by, since most of the fruits are infertile," Smokey explained. Joey's head snapped up at this information, expecting that his friend was messing with him. "Once it first starts bearing fruit, it's almost a guarantee it'll provide fruit for years to come. That's why they aren't so rare in stores, because the fruit will never run out. It's also why Daya gave me the seed as repayment for saving her life. Those berries could save your life many times in the future."

Silence overcame the group. Joey stared at the remnants of the berry in his hand. A fruit he thought to be common was actually so much rarer than he thought. Smokey finally walked over, grabbing a berry and eating it. The cuts on his back slowly stitched together and closed. Joey ate another to clear his head some more, but the fogginess wouldn't go down any farther. Maybe the berries could only heal to a certain extent.

"Look, we should... we should probably find our way out of here," Joey finally said. None of the events that had happened in the past hour made any sense: the weather constantly changing, the odd tingling sensation and the sudden change to the layout of the forest. He just wanted to get to the shack and back to the sense of normal that had slowly become his life.

Once they'd eaten their fill from the bush, the newly healed team resumed their trek through the woods. Jade once tried to see if they were getting any closer by flying above the trees. According to her, it seemed like the forest stretched for dozens of kilometres, which Smokey quickly said was impossible.

Of all things, they noticed the howling had stopped. An occasional shriek from the depths of the woods was heard, but never close to them. Joey was grateful for this. It meant that they weren't being hunted.

Twenty minutes had passed since the found the Oran berries. They were plowing through a bush when the tingling and blurring sensation suddenly overcame them, only to leave just as quickly. It didn't scare the team as much that time. After experiencing it two times, the scariness of it faded away.

"You guys notice how the sky always changes whenever the tingling comes back?" Jade asked, staring into the sky. The stars weren't as clear as before, due to the fact that the moon had become full. An occasional cloud drifted through the dark sky.

"Yup, and it still confuses the hell out of me," Joey said. A high pitched cry pierced the silence of the woods, freezing the trio.

"What was that?" Smokey whispered. Joey shrugged, and it cried out again.

"You think it's another crazy?" Jade asked fearfully. She'd landed on the ground so she was closer to the others. Joey listened to it again, and noticed the same tone in the cries that was in Jade's voice. It was fear.

"They're calling for help," he muttered. His eyes grew wide and he raised his voice. "Someone needs our help!"

He ran off into the woods, following the voice. Smokey and Jade were in hot pursuit. The cries became louder and clearer, until there was no doubt that someone was yelling for help. Joey started to make out new voices as he got closer. One was sobbing and screaming and the other just a feral snarl.

"Hey! Over here!" it cried out. Joey stopped instantly, resulting in Smokey knocking him over. After muttering some curses, he picked himself up to get a better look at who called out for them. All he could see were trees, bushes and the layer of leaves on the ground. "Down a bit."

He looked down and a bush shifted, revealing the face of a Metapod hidden in the foliage. There was a long, brown scratch across its face. He wondered if that's how he looked like with his facial scar to other people. A memory from a previous mission came to mind.

"You're Kabi," he said, staring in disbelief at the bug Pokémon. "Aren't you Parvo's friend?"

"Yes, but how do you know my name?" she asked, fear edging into her voice. "I've never met you guys before."

"We were the ones who saved you- I mean, tried to save you from Sinister Woods," Joey explained.

"Does it really matter about our back stories?" Smokey cut in. "You were yelling for help just a second ago. Why?"

Kabi's eyes widened. "Me and Parvo were playing in the woods with his mom when the earthquake hit. His mom just started to go crazy and tried to kill us. He told me to hide, but he's been keeping her busy until help arrives. I think he's losing..."

Her voice started to falter at the end, trailing off once it became a whisper. The three team members looked at each other as the sounds of battle became more evident. They rushed towards it, finding the battle only a dozen metres from Kabi's hiding place.

Parvo was fighting the larger Butterfree. It wasn't much of a fight, rather the Caterpie firing silk into his mom's eyes and running away while she was distracted. They watched as he sobbed and yelled at his mother to snap out of it. The Butterfree didn't react to her son's pleas and charged him, snarling viciously. Parvo barely managed to evade the attack.

"Mom, please, snap out of it," he pleaded, blinding his mom once again. "I know you're in there. I'm your son, remember?"

Apparently not, because she charged him again, this time striking her child. Joey's brain was shocked into working again.

"C'mon, guys! Let's get in there!" he shouted, rushing into battle. His friends roared a battle cry, gaining the attention of the Butterfree. His plan was to tackle the bigger bug. He didn't realize how heavy it could be, and was sent flying backwards.

Jade used a tackle of her own, knocking the mother out of the sky and onto the ground. They wrestled in the grass as Smokey helped Joey to his feet.

"What's the plan?" he asked, watching the two Pokémon fight.

"We both have effective attacks against her," Joey said, his small knowledge of Pokémon coming to good use. "All we need to do is hit her a few times and knock her out."

"That's simple."

It was a simple plan. They started to charge up their attacks, Joey's fur crackling with electricity and Smokey building a fireball in his mouth. Jade noticed the activity and rolled onto her back, giving an open shot at the other Butterfree. Right as they were going to release their attacks, Smokey was knocked over and into Joey.

"No, don't hurt her!" Parvo cried, standing in between them and his mom.

"What the hell are you doing?" Joey growled, standing up.

The Caterpie was shaking all over, but he stood his ground. "I'm not letting you hurt my mom."

"She's trying to kill us!" Smokey exclaimed. "She tried to kill you."

"I don't care!" the bug type screamed, tears streaming down his face. "She's still my mom. I'll- I'll fight you if I have to."

Joey gave Smokey an exasperated look. Neither of them wanted to hurt a little kid. Jade was sent flying from a kick by the other Butterfree. She recovered before hitting the ground and returned to her previous position.

"What now?" she asked, her eyes not moving from the crazy Pokémon.

"We have to disable her without hurting her," Joey answered. The mother was switching her gaze from Jade to Parvo, as if trying to decide who to attack first. Joey noticed something in her eyes, or rather, the lack of something in her eyes. They were devoid of any emotion except for rage. She didn't even know who her son was.

"Parvo, go get Kabi," Smokey told the young Caterpie. "We'll take care of your mom."

"You won't hurt her, will you?" he pleaded, staring up at them with big black eyes.

"We'll try not to," Joey said. "Now get out of here."

Parvo did as he was told and ran into the brush. Joey and Smokey split up and took different positions, centering the mother in the middle of a triangle. She was confused, spinning around, trying to keep all the attackers in her eyesight at once.

"Jade, you think you can put her to sleep?" Smokey suggested.

She fluttered her wings nervously. Joey found it odd that she could do that while flying. "I'll try, but I'm not sure I can do it again."

The pattern in her wings changed. The mother saw this and instantly rushed Jade. She couldn't move on time and was hit out of the air. Her body hit the ground hard, and she didn't get back up.

"Smokescreen!" Joey ordered. Smokey heard and unleashed a thick, black smoke that covered the entire battle. No one could see a thing. Joey didn't need his sight as long as he had his mind. He realized he could paralyze her. He just needed an opportunity.

Suddenly, the smoke cleared, revealing everyone. The mother was beating her wings fast, creating a strong wind that removed their cover. While they were distracted, she charged Smokey, sending him sprawling into the grass. She would have continued to attack if a purple aura hadn't encased her.

Jade was hunched over, encased in a stronger aura similar to the one surrounding the mother. Whatever she was using must have drained her energy really fast. The glow wavered after a few seconds and the Butterfree broke free, rushing at her attacker. Jade narrowly avoided the tackle, taking to the sky with some difficulty.

Joey was impressed by his teammate's fighting skills. They weren't the best, but until a few days ago she had never been in many fights. Now she was able to hold her own against a more experienced opponent. Still, they needed to end the fight.

"Jade, you think you can do that weird purple thing again?" Joey called from across the clearing.

She shook her head. "I don't know how I did that," she responded breathlessly.

"How are we supposed to beat her if we can't hurt her?" Smokey grumbled. A nasty bruise was forming on his side from where he was hit.

"Easy. We paralyze her," Joey said.

"You know how to do that?"

"'Course I do. It isn't that hard to – OH SHIT!"

Joey forgot that the mother could still hear him. As soon as he announced his plan, the Butterfree rushed him. He rolled out of the way, losing his concentration. He tried again, only for the mother to rush him again. She wasn't going to let him power up. He needed a distraction.

Luckily, Smokey saw this too. He unleashed a giant jet of flame, nearly searing both Joey and the Butterfree. She quickly retreated into the air, keeping her flammable body away from the fire. Joey summoned the right amount of electricity and let it loose in a weak bolt of lightning. The attack never hit, falling short by just a few feet. He realized with a twinge of fear that he needed to be a lot closer for the attack to work. He could try to boost the amount of power, but he didn't want to accidently fry the bug.

He kept a pocket of energy stored, the same amount he used on Stiletta, at the back of his mind. It would be useful for a quick release, as long as he didn't lose his concentration.

The Butterfree used the psychic attack on Smokey, halting his flamethrower. Jade rushed in and started to flap her wings hard, trying to blow the bug away. It failed, and the mother punched her, sending Jade to the ground where she didn't get up. Smokey collapsed in the purple aura, leaving just Joey and the bug.

She glared at him, deciding how to finish her last target. She went with the 'beating it until it stops moving' method and dived at the Pikachu. Joey didn't move, waiting for the perfect time to strike. When it was within a metre of him, he let a weak bolt loose, striking the mother in the face. She gave a weak howl and collapsed to the ground with a horrible crunch. Her body twitched in the grass, but she didn't have any control of her limbs.

"What did you do? I thought you said you wouldn't hurt her!"

Joey spun around as Parvo came rushing to his mother's side. He quickly dragged him back, fearing that she would suddenly lash out at her son.

"Calm down," Joey told him sternly. "I just paralyzed her. She'll be fine."

The Caterpie's eyes grew wide. "That doesn't sound good at all! Now she won't be able to move."

"Paralysis is only temporary," Smokey said, limping over to them. Jade was following close behind, flying slowly through the air. "It'll wear off eventually."

"How long will that be?"

Joey stared at the Butterfree. Her movements were getting stronger. "Looks like it's already fading. We should get out of here."

"You guys can stay with us if you like," Smokey suggested. "You know, until your mom returns to normal."

Parvo glanced at his mother and sniffed. He gave a quick nod to show he agreed.

"Cool. Jade, can you get Kabi?" Joey asked, motioning to where the bug was. "You're the only one strong enough to lift her."

"Are you calling me fat?" Kabi accused angrily.

"No, they're just too weak to carry you," Jade laughed, flying over to the Metapod. Nobody else laughed, or even smiled. The events of the hour were so confusing and scary that it drained pretty much everything out of the group.

"Alright, Smokey, you're the navigator," Joey said once they were all together. "Lead the way."

"I don't know where I'm going," Smokey said quietly.

"What do you mean? I thought you knew these woods like the back of your hand."

The Charmander turned to his friend. He looked absolutely miserable. "I thought I did too. But we've just been wandering around lost since we entered the woods. All the landmarks are in the wrong places. I have no idea where to go."

"C'mon, man. You got us this far at least..."

"I got us to where?" Smokey demanded. "No matter which way we go, we're still going to end up lost."

Joey opened his mouth to respond when a high pitched shriek broke the silence. They all turned in different directions, trying to find the source of the sound.

"What was that?" Kabi whispered, afraid that speaking loud would put them in more danger.

"I want to know _where_ that was," Jade said. Another shriek came from the trees. This time, its source was clear. Everyone looked in the same direction.

"Is anyone else getting a seriously bad feeling?" Smokey said. Joey wanted to reassure his friend, but couldn't find the words to do so. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what those roars were and who they were coming for. It wasn't necessarily a good feeling either.

The shrieks became louder and more frequent, and the rescue team got even more nervous. There was a loud boom and the earth shook beneath them like a miniature earthquake.

"Smokey, what lives in this forest?" Joey asked, hoping to find a reason for the sudden tremor.

"Only Pidgey, Sunkurn, Wurmple and the occasional Exeggcute," he answered. "Nothing too big though. Not many have been able to evolve for the past few years."

That calmed Joey down a bit. That is, until Jade spoke.

"Um, Smokey," she said, quietly. "I evolved a few days ago."

Smokey paled when he realized what Jade was telling him. For once, even Joey knew what they were worried about.

"Wait, that means that there are bigger versions of those Pokémon, right?" he said. The thought of having to fight a giant Pidgey wasn't too appealing to him. He had a feeling that it would take a lot more than a few lightning bolts to take one down.

"That's exactly what it means," Smokey said, the earth rumbling again. The screeches were getting louder and more constant. The deep booms were becoming more frequent. The younger bug Pokémon were really scared.

"What if it's a crazy Pidgeot?" Parvo cried. "Those things are huge, they'll kill us all!"

"Why did you have to mention Pidgeot?" Kabi pleaded. She sounded close to crying.

That gave Joey a bit of resolve. The kids needed someone to be strong for them, someone to look up to in times like these. Since no one was around, the job fell to him.

"No, no one's going to die," Joey said, trying to put as much confidence into those words as possible. It wasn't easy to keep his voice from shaking with a horrible racket filling the air and the earth shaking every second. "I don't care what's coming after us. We're all making it out of these woods alive. We'll fight whatever it is and we'll defeat it, just like we've always done. We're going to survive!"

Right as he said that a massive tremor knocked him to the ground. "Seriously, what the hell?" he yelled over the shrieks. "What is causing that damn shaking?"

"Pidgey fly, not walk, so it can't be them," Smokey thought out loud. He went even paler. "What if it's an Exeggutor?"

Jade turned to him in shock. "It can't be an Exeggutor. They're not that big"

"Nothing else can cause this shaking."

"But they need a Leaf Stone to evolve!"

"What if it found one?"

"We're in the middle of Tiny Woods. Where would you find a Leaf Stone?"

"We found my Oran berry bush in the middle of the woods. Why can't it find an evolution stone?"

"I'm sorry, but what the hell is an Exeggutor?" Joey cut in. He got lost in their conversation at the first sentence.

"A really big Pokémon with really powerful psychic attacks," Smokey summarized. He was staring above the trees. In the dim moonlight, he could make out the silhouettes of three creatures, all of them flying towards them.

"It's a psychic type?" Joey said. "We've fought one before and won."

"Yeah, that was a Meditite, an unevolved Pokémon," Smokey pointed out. "It took over my mind and tried to make me murder you. It almost succeeded too. This is a much more powerful psychic."

"So what are you saying?"

A deep, booming roar blasted from the woods and the tremors increased. Whatever was causing them was picking up the pace.

"I'm saying we should run!" Smokey shouted and booked into the trees. Parvo and Jade were close behind him, with the latter carrying Kabi.

Joey glanced in the direction of the roar. He could see the trees and bushes shuddering. His confidence disappeared and he followed his friends into the forest.

* * *

Smokey landed on the ground hard. His vision quickly cleared like it had the other three times and he took in his surroundings. Once again, they were different from before he passed through the tingling and blurring sensation. Only this time he was relieved by the sight.

He was staring at his shack, his home. It looked the same as ever; run down, covered in overgrowth and leaning to the left. The door was busted, just like Jade said. The sky above was blocked by a thick layer of clouds, just like it had when they had entered the forest. They had finally escaped the horrors of Tiny Woods.

He frowned at the thought. It was really silent all of a sudden. Before his vision went blurry, the woods behind him were a racket of screams from his friends and unknown enemies. Now the sounds were gone, and his friends were missing too. That wasn't right. They were right behind him...

"Whoa, watch out!" Joey yelled as he barreled out of the bushes and into Smokey's gut. Soon, the five Pokémon from Tiny Woods were in a tangled pile on the grass. Smokey immediately pulled himself up and got ready to fight whatever was sure to come bursting from the woods behind them.

Nothing came. Everything was silent and calm. No shrieks, no shaking, no disturbance at all from the forest where they were just chased by an unseen horde. The thought that their pursuers disappeared should have calmed the Charmander down, but it made him more anxious. He felt like at any second they would be swarmed by rabid Pokémon.

"The suspense is killing me," Joey said from behind. He was in his classic fighting stance too; standing on two legs, his fists held in front of his face like he was a fighting type and not an electric rat. Smokey always found the sight of that funny and he relaxed.

"I don't think they're coming," Smokey said, leaving his fighting stance.

"What makes you say that?" Joey asked, still wary.

"It's like the first time we were chased. When we passed through that barrier thing-"

"Barrier thing?"

"You know, that part where your body tingles and your vision blurs. When we passed that part we were suddenly alone. Like they couldn't pass through to continue the chase. I think this is the same thing."

"Yeah, maybe..."

Joey found it found it difficult to relax. For all he knew, there was a bunch of hostile Pokémon waiting in the trees. He heard sobbing, and turned towards it.

Parvo and Kabi had finally broken. The stress from the past few hours finally got the better of them. Parvo was crying for his mom and tears just slipped down Kabi's shell. Jade was trying to comfort them, but wasn't able to do much. She gave him a pleading look, so he came over and tried to do what he could.

"Where do we go now?" Parvo wailed. "My-my mom is c-crazy and my h-home is gone! What do I d-do?"

"Hey, look, it'll be alright," Jade said softly, wrapping a wing around the frightened Caterpie. "This will all blow over in few days. Your mom and the whole forest will be back to normal soon."

The look in her eyes clearly told Joey that she didn't believe what she was saying, but the two kids bought it.

Kabi looked at the Butterfree with watery eyes. "You really think so?"

"Of course we do," Joey jumped in. "You two can stay with us 'til your mom gets better."

They got up and went over to the house, where Smokey was trying to fix the door. It was in really bad shape. Something, or someone, had split the wood nearly in two, and the top half was hanging off the hinge.

"Hey, Smokey, the kids are gonna stay with us," Joey told him.

"We aren't sleeping here tonight," Smokey said, giving up on the door.

"C'mon man. Why not?"

Smokey gave his friend a look as if to ask, _are you stupid_. Instead, he said, "It isn't safe here. The door won't close and I don't trust sleeping next the woods. I can't shake the feeling that something will attack us in the night."

"Where will go?" Kabi asked, her voice quivering.

"Look, I got it figured out already," Smokey said in a calming voice. "We stay in town for the night. Leaky will probably help us out. In the morning we'll ask someone to fix the door and we'll get the kids' problems sorted out. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. The kids seemed to be at ease when there was a plan in place. Joey only hoped that they would find Leaky, and that he could let them stay with him. Maybe Tiny Woods was an isolated incident. The town might be unaffected by the earthquake. He wouldn't know until they got there, and the five started on the familiar path to town.

* * *

"Uh oh..."

The words escaped Joey's mouth before he even knew he said them.

The town was chaos. Pokémon were running in every direction, many of them wounded. Beams of light signalled the returns of rescue teams, all of which looked beaten and disoriented. Screams and shouts echoed throughout the town. In the dim light, he could make out a plume of smoke rising from a house out of eyeshot.

At first, Joey thought that the town and its inhabitants had been struck by the same thing that affected the Tiny Woods Pokémon. He quickly realized that everyone was just confused and panicked, not feral.

"I'm starting to think it wasn't just Tiny Woods that was affected by the quake," Smokey said, staring at the scene in amazement. They were still by the outskirts of town, stopped on the bridge.

"Is the entire island like this?" Jade said to no one particular. Joey was about to say he had no idea when a green head bobbed into view.

"Hey, Leaky!" he called out to the Lombre.

Leaky's head whipped towards them. For a moment, his face was a mix of worry and fear, but it turned to relief when he saw them.

"Oh, thank Mew that you guys are alright," he said and ran to join them. "When Team Renegade came back half dead, I thought the worse. They were saying that all the Pokémon in the Oddity Cave suddenly went berserk after the earthquake. I thought most of what they were saying was nonsense, until other teams showed up in the same state and were saying the same thing. The town's been in a panic mode for the past hour. No one knows what's going on."

"Leaky, we got some bad news for you," Smokey said, sharing uneasy looks with Joey and Jade. "The same thing happened in Tiny Woods, right after the earthquake."

Smokey told him about what had happened in the forest. He didn't leave out a single detail, not even the part with the moving Oran berry bush and Joey exploding the Pidgey's head. Leaky was really worried by the end of the story.

"This isn't good," Leaky said, summing up their ordeal in one sentence. "That machine you described? It's got to be what's causing all these things."

"Those stupid humans," Smokey grumbled, snorting out black smoke. "They always screw up everything. Why do they have to exist? Why must they always screw with us? Now we're all done for."

Anger flared in Joey. He'd like to say it was Smokey's pessimism that set it off, but he knew what it really was. Smokey was saying that all humans were monsters, completely oblivious to the fact that his best friend was one. He wasn't angry that Smokey believed that; he was angry because he almost believed that.

In his old life, how many people did Joey know that were awful human beings? There were too many to count. So many people constantly did bad things without regret, without the slightest regard to others, and lived on like nothing happened. Maybe all humans were evil.

He squashed that thought as soon as it crossed his mind. He knew for a fact that not every human was bad. That's why he had to say something.

"No, we're not done for," he said quietly. His friends turned to him. He raised his voice. "We are not done for. We're still alive. We didn't go crazy like the others all over the island. There's still hope for us. As long as we got our minds, we can, and will, survive."

His friends didn't respond. They looked at the town and its inhabitants, trying to make some sense of what was going on. As he watched the confusion and listened to the shouts, Joey couldn't help but think that their lives were about to get a whole lot more difficult.

* * *

_**A/N:** It took way too long to write this, but Season 1 has finally come to a close. Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the story enough for it to hit 5000 views. I don't know how good that is but I'm pretty damn grateful to have hit that number, so thanks once again._

_The story isn't over yet! Season 2 will begin on the next update, and will be even longer and more awesome than the first. _


	30. New Problems

_BOOM!_

The sound jolted Smokey from his stupor. He had been staring at the sky, lost in thought. The lightning should've told him that the thunder was coming, but he failed to notice it. Rain was coming down in sheets outside, some of it leaking through the holes in the roof. He was sitting on a dry patch of floor, protected from the rain.

"I don't like the thunder," Parvo whimpered quietly at the back. "It's loud and scary."

"You find everything scary," Kabi grumbled from beside him.

"No I don't!

"Yes you do."

"Do not!"

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Be quiet," Smokey ordered, silencing the kids' argument. They shrunk back against the fire place, where a small fire was burning.

Smokey rubbed his temples. He'd never been alone with kids before. He had no idea what to do with them. They constantly got into small little fights that gave him a headache. Jade or Joey would know what to do in this situation. They were the ones who spent time alone with the two bugs, not him.

It had been three days since the Pulse went off. They still didn't know what it was, so they just called it the Pulse. What they did know was that the effects didn't wear off over time, and that it affected the whole island. That's why the kids were staying with them; Parvo's mom was still crazy in Tiny Woods, and they had no idea what happened to Kabi's parents.

The day after it happened, Smokey, Joey and Leaky went back to the power plant to investigate, while Jade stayed home to take care of the kids. The place was a mess. The Pulse triggered an earthquake, causing structural damage in many of the facility's buildings, including the one they found the machine in. Steel beams and other debris blocked the elevator, the one way they knew how to get down. The stairs they used to escape had collapsed, effectively destroying any method of getting down to the room. Leaky tried to shift some of the metal, but only ended up getting a gash on his arm for the effort.

"When are Jade and Joey getting back?" Parvo asked after a many tense minutes of silence.

Smokey puffed out a white cloud. "I don't know. Maybe in a few minutes. They've been in there for a few hours already."

The kids didn't seem to notice, but Smokey was much more worried than he let on for. His two friends had gone into the woods three hours ago. That was way too much time for them to be in there.

They went in teams of two on their past trips to get a better feel for the woods, for what had happened. Those trips were extremely dangerous. Ferals attacked any chance they got, the layout of the forest was different every time they went in and you could never tell where you were going. It was stupid and reckless to constantly venture back into there, but they had to know if the natives had regained their senses. He just hoped that Jade and Joey came back soon.

As he thought that, a Butterfree burst into the open. Through the haze of rain, Smokey thought it was Parvo's mother. He jumped to his feet, getting ready for a battle. Then he noticed the bag it was holding and relaxed.

"Jeez, that was dangerous!" Jade exclaimed. While she was covered in scrapes and cuts, she seemed fine. Something, or rather someone, was missing.

"Where's Joey?" Smokey asked, looking for his Pikachu friend.

Jade looked back at the forest. "Um... he'll be here in a few seconds."

Before he could ask what she meant, Joey came flying out of the trees, screaming at the top of his lungs. He hit the ground and slid a few metres.

"Son of a bitch," he swore. Rubbing the back of his head, he got up into a sitting position. "That hurt a lot. Who know Butterfree could be so strong?"

"What happened?" Smokey said from the door. He would have gone to help Joey, but it was still raining heavily. He didn't like the rain. "What are the woods like?"

"Same as the last time; crazy people, impossible to navigate and a bunch of other weird things," Joey grumbled. Entering the almost dryness of the shack, he shook his whole body, spraying water everywhere. He ignored the cries of his friends as the water hit them. Since he became a Pokémon and discovered his entire body was covered in fur, he'd wanted to do that. He'd seen enough stray dogs do that back when he was human and wanted to try it out himself.

Smokey was going to slap Joey upside the head when Parvo cut him off.

"You guys came back!" he squealed, running towards him. Kabi was much slower, only able to roll. "How's my mom? Is she back to normal?"

"No, she's still out of it," Joey frowned.

"Are you sure? How can you be sure?"

"Because she bitch-slapped me about a fifty feet."

"Dude!" Smokey said, shocked by his friend's attitude. Parvos's face went from hopeful to miserable in a second. His eyes watered up as he rejoined Kabi at the back of the room.

"What the hell, man? You couldn't have been a little less blunt?" Smokey hissed once they two bugs left. They could all hear the soft sobbing coming from the back.

"I'm kinda pissed right now, I'm sorry," Joey shot back in an equally low tone. "That thing about the fifty foot bitch-slap wasn't an over exaggeration. She's not getting better. If anything, she's gotten worse. "

"You didn't have to be so harsh about it!"

"Guys," Jade cut in to prevent an argument. "We have things that are little more serious to talk about."

Smokey nodded grimly. "Right. Joey, you were talking about some other weird stuff?"

"I was?" he said, looking confused for a moment. Then he remembered what Smokey was talking about. "Oh, right. Jade, get it out of the bag."

The Butterfree immediately started rifling through the bag. Smokey waited for an explanation, but Joey never gave one. After a minute, Jade dropped the bag and moved in closer to the group.

"You remember the seed we found a few days ago?" Joey said, watching Jade's fist uneasily. "You know, the red one with the flame etched into it?"

"You blew up a Pidgey's head with it. How could I forget?" Smokey said, receiving a glare from the Pikachu. Joey was still bothered by that fight.

In the past week, he killed two Pokémon directly, and was involved in the deaths of another two. He didn't like the fact that he was becoming used to the idea of death. It scared him.

"Well, we found more seeds," Jade said, slinging the bag onto her back once again, careful to avoid damaging her wings. She opened her hand, revealing two different coloured ovals.

They looked exactly like the red seed they found, except these ones were a vivid blue and deep purple. Both had symbols etched into them. The blue symbol was a blurred arrow, and the purple had a darkened blotch that reminded Smokey of the Shadow Creatures they saw at the plant.

"Do you know what they do?" Smokey asked.

Joey laughed. "Are you kidding? There's no way we'd test them out on ourselves. I prefer to keep my head in one piece."

"Then how are we supposed to find out what they do?"

"Hell if I know."

_BOOM!_

Another thunderclap shocked them into silence. They looked out into the rain, in time to see a figure walking through the rain, like it didn't bother them at all. The identity of the tall, green Pokémon was soon visible as it got closer.

"Hey, Leaky," Smokey said to the dual type.

"Hey, if it isn't the entirety of Team Spartan," he responded in his unusual deep voice. "All three of you sleeping under the same roof now?"

"Yeah, there's safety in numbers."

"I'm guessing you're not just out for a stroll in the rain?" Joey asked, wondering why Leaky would walk so far from the safety of town towards the dangers of the forest next to them.

"Well, I do like the rain. It makes me feel more energized," Leaky said, causing Joey to almost slap himself. Leaky was a grass-water type, meaning that he'd enjoy the rain. Getting used to the whole Pokémon thing was still hard for Joey. Remembering all the different things about the species was ridiculous, considering there was so much to know. Thankfully, the Lombre didn't seem to notice.

"You're right though. I need your help," he said. "I'm heading to the plant again, see if we missed anything, and I need all of you."

"We can't do that," Jade frowned. She gestured to the kids in the back. "We can't leave Parvo and Kabi unattended. One of us needs to stay with them."

"We'll bring them with us," Leaky answered.

"Are you nuts?" Joey exclaimed. "Leaky, that place is way too dangerous to bring the kids to. Look at your arm. It still hasn't healed yet."

The Lombre glanced down at his arm. Dampened from the rain, a bandage hid a nasty wound behind a thin layer of cloth.

"Joey's right," Smokey said. "One of us will just stay behind with kids."

"No, I need all three of you," Leaky insisted. "Jade can fly, so we could have missed something last time. And your tail can act like a light source and Joey can make a flashlight."

"What's the point of having two light sources?" Joey said, getting approving nods from his friends. "One would be enough."

"I was kinda thinking we would split up, co-"

"NO!" the other three Pokémon shouted at once. Leaky was shocked into silence, as his friends all started speaking at once.

"We're not splitting up."

"Bad idea."

"It's too dangerous!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Leaky interrupted.

Joey looked at his friends. "Did no one tell him why I got knocked out?" Smokey scratched the back of his head and Jade found sudden interest in the ground. Leaky just looked confused. "Unbelievable. I thought you guys were my friends."

"We are," Jade assured him. "There was just so much stuff going on at the time. It slipped our minds..."

"So you just forgot to tell Leaky why I was in a coma?"

"You were in a coma?" Leaky asked.

Joey stared in disbelief at friends. "REALLY?" he exclaimed, his friends shrinking back.

"We'll just tell him now, okay?" Smokey said, putting his hands up in defence. He glanced over at Leaky, partially distracted by the furious Pikachu next to him. "When went to find Buzz that day, we split up to cover more ground. Jade and Joey were in a room when an Electrode snuck up behind them and Self-Destructed. Joey nearly died from the blast."

"We can't split up again, not after that," Jade said hastily.

For a moment, Leaky looked defeated. He'd exhausted all his options. Well, except for one.

"Joey can read human," he said, placing his last card.

"So?" Joey grumbled and raised an eyebrow. He was still ticked off at his friends, and Leaky wasn't helping with his bad mood.

"You can translate the signs, help us navigate the facility."

"Then I'll stay behind," Smokey decided. "Joey can double as a light and translator."

"No no no," Leaky muttered. This wasn't going the way he wanted. "This is really important, I need all-"

"Dammit, Leaky, we're not bringing the kids!" Joey snapped. Leaky's mouth hung open, and he closed it without a word. If he wasn't so angry, Joey might have felt bad for losing his temper. The Lombre's insistence had pushed him over the edge. He was about to apologize when a voice from behind scared him half to death.

"You're not bringing us where?" Parvo asked, his eyes wide. Joey's next words would have definitely included some that were too vulgar for the young bugs, so Smokey intervened before the Pikachu talked.

"Leaky wants to go to the plant," he told them, casting a wary glance at Joey, whose fists were clenched and eyes closed. "It's dangerous for us, so it's too dangerous for you two."

"What if we want to go?" Kabi piped up, rolling next to her unevolved friend. Some of her confidence transferred to Parvo.

"Yeah. It's so _boring_ here," the Caterpie said. "We've been cooped up in this shack for so long, it's been driving me crazy. We want some adventure!"

"You see, guys?" Leaky gestured to the kids. "Even they want to go."

Team Spartan glared at the Lombre. Even Jade's usual smile and infectious happiness had been replaced by anger. Smoke curled from the Charmander's nose. Neither of them looked as angry as Joey though.

He was nearly about to lose it. The only thing keeping the anger back was his experience with kids, specifically his younger siblings. He learned early on never to snap at them. It takes ages to get back to that level of trust. He opted to vent his anger on Leaky later on.

"What if we said no anyways?" Smokey threatened.

"Then we'll just go off on our own adventure," Kabi said smugly. "The woods are right over there. We'd be gone as soon as you turned your head."

"You wouldn't dare, you nearly died in there."

"Try me."

Smokey swallowed the fireball he sorely wanted to launch at Leaky. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice then," he grumbled and turned to the kids. "I guess we have to take you guys with us."

Parvo and Kabi cheered, head-butting in their way of doing a high-five. The five of them exited the shack and into the rain. As Joey passed Leaky, he jabbed him in the ribs, sending a strong jolt of electricity through the Lombre.

Joey took the lead onto the muddy path. Jade and the kids were in the middle while Smokey lingered back. Leaky may have angered his friends greatly, but he figured they'd get over it soon enough.

* * *

Smokey's hatred for the rain only increased as he trudged along the dirt road. Rain soaked his body, his tail flame turning it to steam instantly. Mud clung to his legs, chilling them to the bone. The weather was making him miserable. He fell back to Leaky, who was trailing at the back, most likely trying to avoid conversation with the angered rescue team.

Joey was still alone at the front, venting his anger slowly. His fur was drenched from the rain, yet he didn't seem to notice it. Jade was making small talk with the kids, struggling to fake cheerfulness. The added weight of the pack plus her waterlogged wings made flying difficult.

"I'm guessing you're not telling us why you really wanted to go back?" he questioned the dual type. Leaky avoided eye contact.

"I told you already. There was definitely something we missed last time," he said again. There was a slight tone to his voice, an edge. Smokey knew he was hiding part of the truth, though he suspected that no amount of prying would gain it.

"Well, I hope you're happy that you dragged the kids into this," Smokey accused. "If they get hurt, it'll be your fault."

"They'll be fine. I know that much."

Smokey's attempts at making the Lombre feel guilty failed. Leaky seemed to have absolute confidence that nothing would go wrong. Maybe he convinced himself that everything would be alright. Smokey wished he could do that.

Up ahead, Smokey noticed a branch in the path. It lead to Thunderwave Cave, and it acted as the halfway marker to the power plant. Thunder boomed in the distance, and Smokey caught a glimpse of lightning.

Then everything went from bad to worse.

Joey was next to the turn-off when the lightning flashed. His whole body suddenly tensed, sparks of electricity arching through his fur. His ears stood straight up, swivelling around. The group stopped, noticing the odd behavior. Too soon for them to react, Joey turned left and sprinted towards the cave.

Smokey snapped into action.

"_Joey!_" he yelled, sprinting after the Pikachu on all fours, not caring for the mud splashing on his body. "Come back! Where are you going?"

He continued to chase after him, calling his name. Joey didn't seem to hear. He was oblivious to everything but the path ahead. Jade exchanged a worried look with Leaky before joining the chase, picking up Kabi as she went.

At this speed, the mad dash to the cave only took a few minutes. Smokey was fueled by pure adrenaline, which was the only reason he was barely able to maintain pace with Joey. The imposing rock face that housed Thunderwave Cave loomed in front of them. The entrance looked as appealing as the mouth of monster.

That didn't deter Joey. He ran straight into the opening, vanishing into the darkness. Smokey made his decision quickly. Without slowing down, he plunged into the inky black.

When the second member of her team disappeared, Jade stopped in her tracks instantly. The cave swallowed her friends up. Even Smokey's tail flame was lost in the gloom. Using her free hand, she grabbed Leaky by the leaf on his head as he ran by. The motion jerked Leaky back, sending him sprawling into the mud.

"Jade! What are you doing?" he demanded, brushing the mud off his back. "Joey could get lost in there!"

He didn't know what just happened to their friends. Jade had experience with the areas affected by the Pulse. She didn't know how to explain it to Leaky properly. The kids realized what happened too, sparing Jade from an explanation.

"Oh no," Parvo whimpered. He shimmied next to the Metapod for comfort. "The cave is like Tiny Woods, isn't it?"

Jade felt a lump forming in her throat. "Yeah, I think it is."

"What are you talking about it?" Leaky said, his shock fading to fear.

"Did you notice how both of them seemed to be just swallowed up by the darkness?" she asked.

"Yeah... but Thunderwave Cave is like that. You can't see very far because it's so dark."

"Then how come when Smokey entered, his tail flame disappeared instantly? Wouldn't it lighten up the cave?"

Leaky's eyes widened. A shiver went up his spine as his brain processed the information. He couldn't say a word, too worried about his friends' fates.

"The cave has been affected too," Jade continued. "We can't follow them in or we get caught in there."

"But you have to go in," Kabi from said below. Jade looked at her in confusion, so she continued. "You have all the supplies on your back. They're going to need them."

A jolt of pure fear ran through Jade's entire body. The Metapod was right. She would have to go into the cave, or her friends wouldn't stand a chance.

Her wings acted on their own accord, inching her towards the black maw in the rock. The inky blackness would swallow her up, and she had no idea what to expect on the other side.

"Jade... are you sure you can go through with this?" Leaky said quietly. He was pained to see another friend venture into the unknown. "I mean, Joey and Smokey have been through a lot worse. They could make it out..."

Jade shook her head. "No... no they need me. I have to go. Take care of the kids."

"What should I do?" Leaky asked desperately.

"Bring them back to our house and wait," Jade said and turned from her the remainder of the group to the rock face.

She swallowed the lump in throat, and with it, her fear. Closing her eyes, she flew through the barrier and was overcome by the tingling sensation. She didn't need to open her eyes to know that her sight was blurring uncontrollably.

Once she heard the voices, she opened her eyes. Smokey was yelling at Joey, his face a deep shade of red and his tail flame blazing. Joey seemed far off, a lost look on his face. He seemed unaware of the Charmander shouting at him. Jade cleared her throat to gain the attention of the two Pokémon.

"Um... guys?" she said. The argument stopped. They were surprised to see her there, considering that spot was empty seconds earlier.

"Jade?" Smokey said, going from anger to surprise in a heartbeat. "Where did you come from?"

"From there," she gestured over her shoulder, not bothering to turn around. Smokey and Joey peered around either side of her, searching for an entrance.

"Yeah, I think you're pointing in the wrong direction," Joey said after a minute. "Unless you've learned to phase through walls, of course."

Jade spun around, being greeted by a solid rock wall. The hole through which she entered had been replaced by stone, effectively blocking any way to exit the cave. She knew she should be surprised, but in the back of her mind she expected this to happen. She didn't expect for Smokey to angrily turn on Joey.

"Dammit, Joey, this is your fault," he accused, shoving his claw in the Pikachu's face. "If you didn't bolt in here, we wouldn't be stuck in this mess!"

"Well sorry I heard someone calling for help and decided to lend a hand," Joey snapped, smacking the claw from his face. He was starting to get angry also. "I thought that's what rescue teams were supposed to do!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The cry for help! It was coming from the mountain."

"I didn't hear anything. You must be imagining things."

"I wasn't imagining shit!"

"Guys!" Jade interjected once again. She found that she was doing that more and more often. "We have more pressing matters right now."

"We know. We're stuck in a cave with no way out because Joey's an idiot!" Smokey said. Joey snarled, dropping on all fours. Electricity bristled in his fur.

"Don't you guys see what this means?" Jade said, desperate to avoid a fight. They looked at her with blank expressions. "You guys get tingling feeling when you entered the cave? It was the same thing that happens in Tiny Woods."

Joey stopped sparking. "You're saying that this place was also affected by the Pulse?" he asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

The two had different reactions to this news. Joey vented some anger through string of vile curses. Smokey chewed on his lower lip, thinking their situation over. After Joey exhausted every vile word he knew, which was a surprising amount, he walked over to Jade.

"Give me the map," he said, holding out his hand. Jade looked at him, confused.

"What map?"

"The map of the cave!"

"We have a map of the cave?"

Smokey stepped in before Joey could spazz out. Jade didn't know about Leaky's map since she wasn't on the team when they received it.

"Check the bag," he told her. "It should be somewhere in there."

The Butterfree slung the bag off her shoulders. Joey opened the bag, coming to Smokey's realization later than his friend. A few minutes later, he pulled out the tattered paper. He unfolded it, scanning the contents. His brows scrunched further together the longer he stared at the map. It wasn't making any sense. Occasionally, he would look up to search the room for significant landmarks that he could place on the map.

"Okay, I got some good news and some bad news," Joey began, finally taking his eyes of the page. "This cave does not show up on the map, so I can't find where we are."

"It's not on the map?" Smokey said in disbelief. "That's not possible. We used it last time we came here and it worked fine."

"Well, there isn't a chamber that has three passages branching off like that," Joey directed their attention to the far wall. Three dark corridors led to more darkness, the two on the side splitting diagonally from the middle one. "This room doesn't exist on the map."

"So what's the good news then?" Jade asked, needing some confidence.

"That was the good news," Joey said, with a half-hearted chuckle. "The bad news is that we're probably going to wander around down here until we die of starvation because there's no way out."

Jade and Smokey had their faces frozen in an expression of shock, their jaws hanging slightly open, eyes wide and unfocused.

"Well, that sucks," Jade finally said, closing her mouth.

"That's one way of putting it," Smokey agreed with a small sigh. "You sure there isn't another way of getting out?"

Joey checked the map futilely, hoping there was a detail he overlooked. He shook his head. "Nah. The only way in is the entrance. The cave only goes deeper from here. Last time we got out was because of the rescue team badge..."

The answer clicked into place at the same time. "The badge!" they all exclaimed at the same time. They pulled it out in an instant. Smokey took a deep breath and squeezed the button. He closed his eyes, waiting for the light to take them back to his shack. A minute passed before he had the nerve to open them again. The first thing he saw was his friends, and was relieved that they were all still together...

... only for the feeling to disappear completely when he noticed the damp rock behind them. He stared at the badge. His friends opened their eyes, getting that same hope and having it dashed a moment later.

"It didn't work," Smokey muttered, gazing at the badge that saved their lives so many times in the past. "Why didn't it work?"

"I'm guessing it rhymes with The 'Dulce,'" Joey muttered darkly. With no badge and no way to escape, the team was stuck in the cave. Their situation was bleak. Then a thought drifted across Joey's mind, lifting his spirits.

"What if there is another way out," Joey said out loud, not directing the thought to anyone. His attention was focused on the map again.

"There isn't, we went over this," Smokey groaned, his voice cracking. "Our only entrance is gone."

To him and Jade, their hope was lost. Tiny Woods was different from this cave. In the forest, all they had to do was walk until they came out on the other side. Now, the entrance, and the exit, was missing, taking any hope of escape with it.

"True, but what if we don't need it?" Joey pondered, showing the map to his friends. They looked at where his finger was pointing. "Remember what Leaky said? We can use the holes to get to the deeper levels. Maybe if we get to the bottom, we can get out from there."

Smokey stared at his friend. "We'd just be lost in a deeper part of the cave. How does that even make sense?"

"It doesn't!" Joey exclaimed, scrunching the map in his fist. His friends both looked at him like he was crazy, which he probably was. "Nothing about this makes any sense. Vanishing exits, unmarked rooms; it's all impossible! So we just do the same thing we did in Tiny Woods."

"Blunder our way through and hope for the best?" Jade said.

"Exactly. Last time, we had no idea what we were doing, and we still managed to get out alive."

"Barely," Smokey added. Joey shot a glare at him before continuing.

"That's not the point. What I'm saying is, why should this time be any different? Face it, any plan we make is eventually gonna go out the window. Why not go with this one and hope for the best?"

Smokey looked at Jade for her opinion. The Butterfree shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm in," she said. "It's better than doing nothing, I suppose."

Smokey sighed. "I still think it's crazy, but I guess I'm in too."

Joey grinned, stuffing the map back into the bag. Jade grabbed the bag and slung it over her shoulders once again. The team shared a nervous chuckle, choose a corridor at random and headed into the darkness. Danger lurked in every shadow, but that was just life for Team Spartan.

* * *

_**A/N:** Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. School has started and with it a new hockey season. Believe it or not, but I actually have a kind of social life, so I won't be able to write as much as I did in the summer. No more weeks where I pump out 10000 words. And expect a massive slow down in February. That semester will be a total shit-storm of work, and I doubt I'll be able to write much._

_Well, Season 2 has officially started. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do writing it. As always, thanks for reading!_


	31. Ambushed

The steady dripping of water was disconcerting in the dark tunnels. The sound echoed off the rock walls from the darkness. The group couldn't tell if there was any Pokémon around, hiding in the shadows. Other than the dripping, the sound of their breathing, Smokey's crackling fire and their light footsteps, the cave was silent. Smokey cursed loudly, causing his friends to jump.

"Stupid water," he grumbled, pulling his foot out of a deep puddle. "Why does this cave have to be so wet?"

"I dunno, because it's raining?" Joey smirked, earning a smack from the Charmander. "Hey, I was just pointing something out! You didn't have to hit me."

"Yeah I did."

"How 'bout I shock the living hell out of you then?" Joey suggested. Sparks starting shooting from his cheeks as he powered up for an electrical attack.

Thankfully, Jade recognized the danger and intervened. "Whoa, don't shock him!" she said, coming between the two friends. "The entire cave is soaked. If you miss with you electricity, you'll shock us all!"

Joey immediately cut the power flow. While he had gotten better at controlling his attacks, he didn't want to risk frying his friends badly.

"Yeah, Joey, you should avoid using ranged attacks while we're down here," Smokey said. "Just stick to close combat, or you'll send us to the hospital."

"Okay," Joey said and punched Smokey in the ribs. Smokey doubled over in pain and Jade stifled a laugh.

"I guess I deserved that one," Smokey gasped, coughing out a white cloud. The team all felt a little better with the horsing around, as it helped them forget their situation.

"You guys want to know something funny?" Jade asked after a minute. The mention of injuries reminded her of something. Her friends agreed. "Well, when I was in the hospital a few days ago, I heard a couple interesting pieces of gossip about a certain rescue team."

Joey's ears perked up like they always did when he was interested. Smokey's tail flame grew brighter. "Go on..."

"A few of the female patients mentioned their crushes," Jade continued, unable to contain the grin from her face. "A Jolteon went into great detail about what she would do with a Pikachu if she could. There was also a Mancentric who said similar things, but I'm pretty sure he was gay."

Joey wasn't sure how to react to this news. Someone actually had a crush on him. That never happened. He should have been excited, or at least happy. But he still thought of himself as a human teen, not a Pokémon. Being in a relationship with another species would be extremely weird.

"Um... Yay," he said, failing to fake enthusiasm.

"Anything about me?" Smokey asked, his excitement mounting. Joey could tell because his tail flame flared, nearly searing the Pikachu's fur.

"Yeah," Jade said. "There was this Charmander asking _so many_ questions. You'd have to be blind not to see she was interested... actually, scratch that. You'd still be able to see it even if you were blind."

Smokey grinned like kid on his birthday preparing to open a mountain of gifts. His tail doubled in size, drying the ground around it.

"Well, looks like we're two attractive dudes," Joey said with a nervous laugh. "It's not like I'm surprised. Girls go crazy for this body."

Joey struck a pose, hands on his hips and staring boldly into the distance. Jade just laughed.

"Yeah, you can keep thinking that if you want," she said. Joey's arms slumped and he glared at her.

"You're lucky you're my friend or I'd zap you so freaking hard right now."

"What are we going to do about this?" Smokey asked suddenly. He hadn't been focusing on his teammates' conversation. He had been lost in his own thoughts. Joey couldn't read minds, and had no idea what he was talking about.

"What are we going to do about what?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Our little fan club," Smokey clarified. "We have girls that like us. We can ask them out or something."

If he were an actual Pokémon or if he and the girls were human, he would have been excited about this. It was obvious that Smokey was thrilled, but Joey just couldn't wrap his mind around it. His face showed the turmoil going on in his head, and his friends picked it up instantly.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Smokey asked, noticing the Pikachu's frown.

"Yeah, aren't you happy?" Jade added.

"Or course I'm happy," Joey said quickly, putting on a perfected fake smile. "I'm just a little confused is all. I've never been in a relationship before. I don't know what to do."

That wasn't necessarily the truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie. No girl had ever asked him out on a date, and until he was twelve, he'd never been all that interested in the opposite sex. It was too late at that point for him to go on a date. He was working at that time, and there wasn't really a strong pick of girls his age at the factory.

"Oh, it's easy, man," Smokey said. He was eager to help his friend with girl troubles. "All you need to do is go up to them, and ask if they want to go out with you. If they say no, no biggie. There's plenty more girls out there. But, if they say yes, then you're golden."

"Sounds like you have a lot of experience with girls," Jade noted. "You've ever been in a relationship?"

Smokey's face reddened to a deeper shade of orange. He rubbed his arm, not making eye contact. After a while, he mumbled a few words, but neither of the others heard them.

"Come again?" Joey said.

"Yeah, I've been in one," Smokey repeated. He was still mumbling though it was loud enough for them to hear.

"Who was it?" Jade asked. Then with a snicker, "Is it someone we know?"

"No. No, it's no one you know."

"C'mon, tell us," Joey tried to pry the information from the Charmander. "What's there to hide?"

"Yeah, just tell us," Jade joined in.

Smokey groaned in resignation. "Fine. It was a Machop- I mean a Machoke. Her name was Valida, but I just called her Val. I was the one that broke it up."

"Ouch. How'd she take it?" Jade asked. She flew backwards to keep them in view. Smokey stopped when she asked that and Joey did too shortly after.

"Uh... you don't want to go there," Smokey said.

"Bad topic?"

"No. We literally can't go there," Joey corrected. He pointed to the ground beneath her.

Jade looked down and gasped. While she was flying, she had completely lost track of the ground under her. The entire floor of the hall was gone, replaced by an infinite stretch of darkness. She quickly retreated back to the team and landed on the ground. Both Joey and Smokey were staring into the hole.

"You think we can use it?" Joey asked his friend.

"I don't know," Smokey responded truthfully. "Leaky said we should look for holes and cave-ins to get the next level."

"Well, I guess this can count as one."

Joey knew that the next floor below was about ten feet down. Dropping that height was no problem for him as long as he landed correctly. He took a step back and jumped off the edge, preparing himself for the hard landing.

It never came. Smokey grabbed his tail and yanked him back onto solid ground. The impact just knocked the wind from him, but his anger still sparked.

"What the hell, Smokey? Why'd you do that?" he demanded, marching right up to the Charmander's face. Smokey took a step back and pushed Joey away.

"For all I know, I was saving your life," he said. He pointed back to the hole. "We don't know how deep that goes. You could've fallen to your death."

"What? How?"

Smokey didn't respond with words. He picked up a rock and walked to the edge. Making sure his teammates were watching, he dropped it into the hole. It vanished into the darkness and they waited to hear it hit the bottom.

The sound never came.

"See? This pit could go on forever," Smokey stated to a shocked Joey.

"That doesn't make sense!" Joey argued. "There has to a bottom to a..." he trailed off at the look Smokey was giving him. "Oh, right. I forgot. Nothing makes sense in here."

"Just remember that before you go jumping down bottomless pits."

Smokey took the lead and retraced their steps to the last intersection. Joey stared at the hole for awhile longer. He really needed to stop jumping into things without a second thought. One day, that was going to kill him. He quickly regained his bearings and caught up to his team.

They trudged along through the damp cave in silence once again. Smokey's tail flame would occasionally sizzle from a fallen drop of water. The corridor in front of them seemed to stretch forever into endless darkness.

Joey peered back into the darkness behind them. A pair of glowing, canine eyes looked back at him. He blinked and they were gone.

He waited for them to come back, staring at the point for a minute. To say the eyes unnerved him was an understatement. His heart pounded so hard it threatened to break his ribs. Beads of sweat rolled down his face.

Those eyes could just have been an illusion of the mind, coming to existence from his worried brain. Or they could belong to the cave's inhabitants. If they were the same as the ones in Tiny Woods and had been driven insane, Team Spartan was in for a nasty surprise.

Or the worst case, they didn't belong to the natives at all. They belonged to the Shadow Creatures instead.

The thoughts made his blood run cold. He tried to block out the possibilities, but no matter what, he couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched.

His teammates remained silent, oblivious to what just happened behind them. Joey needed a distraction from his mind. After ten minutes, Joey couldn't bear the silence.

"So back to your girlfriend," he said out of nowhere.

"Not again..." Smokey groaned, burying his face in his claws.

"Did you ever... you know?" Joey asked, raising his eyebrows up and down.

"Did I ever what?

"You know... do the dirty, rock the casbah, make the beast with two backs, bump uglies, the mattress mambo."

"Still not following."

"Sex!" Joey exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. He finally had enough with the euphemisms. "Did you and your girlfriend ever screw?"

"What the... What kinda sick question is that?" Smokey yelled in disgust. "What is wrong with you?"

"Answer the question," Jade laughed.

"No!"

"So you didn't screw?" Joey said. Smoke curled from the Charmander's nose.

"I meant I'm not answering the question," Smokey said.

"I think that means it was bad," Joey whispered to Jade, causing the Butterfree to land in fits of laughter.

"Stop making fun of me," Smokey warned, raising a claw as a threat.

Joey didn't flinch. He had a hunch that Smokey wouldn't actually attack him. Even if he did, he could beat the Charmander.

"Answer the question and I will."

Smokey blushed even more. His face turned completely red and white smoke plumed from his nose. He looked like a tea kettle, or someone who was angry in a cartoon.

Finally, "No."

"Awww..."

Joey and Jade both groaned at the same time. Somehow, it just felt like a letdown. To their surprise though, Smokey continued, like he was talking to himself more than to them.

"I was so close too. It was just my damn luck that screwed me that day."

Jade and Joey exchanged confused and intrigued looks. Smokey didn't realize that he just said that last part out loud.

"You going to continue with that thought?" Jade asked. Smokey jumped, his face paling.

"Did you guys hear that last part?" he asked, his voice high. They nodded, grinning widely. "Oh crap, I'm an idiot."

"What happened?" Joey prompted.

"You guys aren't going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you?" Smokey asked. Predictably, the two shook their heads in perfect sync.

"Alright," Smokey sighed. "Val and I had been together for a few months. She was finally cool with going all the way for the first time. So we were in bed, getting romantic, you know?" Joey shook his head, but he had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about. "Well, Val was still a Machop that day, same size as me. Then, right as we were going to start, she's enveloped in this huge light. She started growing, getting bigger and bigger. Once the light faded, she was twice the size of me, and a hell of a lot more muscular. I... I couldn't do it after that. It was just too awkward and weird. I broke up with her the next day."

Neither Jade or Joey said anything throughout his story. They had stopped walking, their jaws on the floor. It took a few minutes for them to unfreeze.

"That sucks," Jade said, summarizing the story pretty well in two words.

"That's hilarious!" Joey said, doubling over in laughter.

Smokey rolled his eyes. The colour of his face slowly returned to its normal orange. "So, you finally satisfied now?"

"Completely," Joey managed.

Smokey was glad for the humour, even though the jokes were aimed at him. It lightened the chilling atmosphere of the cave. For a brief moment, he forgot about being lost in a cave and enjoyed the conversation.

That moment ended too soon. He stopped abruptly. The corridor hadn't changed for a while, barely even adjusting its trajectory.

"What is it now, Smokey?" Joey stopped too. He didn't dare venture outside the small ring of light.

"I don't like it down here," Smokey answered, truthfully. "We're lost, and I don't like what might be in store."

"It's kind of hard to navigate without a map," Jade said, peering futilely down the darkened corridors.

"Even harder when the cave decides to screw with you and mess with the layout," Joey added with a grim chuckle. "Anything can be down here."

A low growl came from the behind them. Instinctively, they turned as on to the sound. The unseen Pokémon growled again, this time more menacingly.

"Joey, you jinxed it," Jade whined, fluttering in the air nervously. "Why'd you have to say anything could be down here?"

"Smokey said it first!" Joey protested.

Another growl, this time from behind. They spun uncertainly, as more snarls came from both ends.

"We're surrounded," Smokey said, cursing silently to himself for not seeing this coming. He was the leader of the team, he should have been prepared.

"Shit! I knew something was watching us," Joey cursed. His body tensed, anticipating the inevitable fight. He called on his power and kept it at the ready for a quick release. "So what's the plan for this?"

"We have plans for fights?" Jade asked. She hovered in the air, just off the wet ground.

"Of course we do," Smokey said. "We don't just run into things without a plan..."

His words trailed off from the stares of his companions. Running into things without a plan is exactly what they did.

Now that Smokey thought about it, there weren't many times where they'd been ambushed. Most of the fights they fought were one-on-one. The ones where they were outnumbered didn't tend to go so well. He shuddered at the memory of the Geodude gang.

In that moment of silence, the unseen enemies howled and charged the group.

His tail lighting a small area, Smokey was just able to grab a glimpse of their enemies before they struck. Six Poochyena, three on each side, attacking at once.

Joey unleashed a thin, powerful bolt of lightning at the nearest one. His aim was flawless and the first dark type went down with a faint whimper. The other two rushed past their fallen comrade and tackled Joey. The Pikachu was quickly buried beneath a mass of fur.

Smokey had worse luck on the other side. A jet of flame burst from his mouth, filling the entire corridor. The fire cleared, but the three Poochyena were still charging, their fur singed.

He jumped, landing on the head of lead wolf. Slashing the face of the next, he ran forward into the last attacker. He raised his claws for the final blow only to cry out in pain.

The other Poochyena latched onto his arm, sinking its canine teeth deep into Smokey's flesh. Blood poured from the wound and down his arm. Smokey tried to pull his arm free and screamed when he tore his arm open even more. Another latched onto his leg and he went down, trashing in panic.

Fear gripped him as he went down. He couldn't believe it. After surviving so many missions, he was going to die from a pack of crazed Poochyena. What would his dad say if he heard of his son's embarrassing fate? He tried not to think about it, but the crushing reality of the situation was getting to him.

The pain on his arm subsided as the grip became looser. The Poochyena was enveloped in a bright purple aura.

Jade! He forgot about her psychic abilities. The Butterfree picked up his attacker and flung it into the darkness. A pitiful yelp marked where it landed.

The Poochyena still attached to Smokey's leg snarled and tugged. Fighting back tears of pain, Smokey slashed it across its face. Blood splattered on the floor from three gouge marks on its face. It cried in pain and Smokey hit it again, knocking the Poochyena out.

Smokey turned to thank Jade when his whole body jerked with pain. He cried out and fell to the damp floor. The unpleasant smell of burnt fur met his nostrils. His muscles twitched violently, not allowing him to stand. All he could do was lie on the ground and groan.

"You guys alright?" Joey asked, slowly getting to his feet. Blood stained his fur, some of it belonging to him and some belonged to the others. His body ached from releasing so much energy in the attack that threw the Poochyena off him.

The ambushers were defeated, whimpering on the damp ground around them. Most had their fur singed from Joey's electricity.

"I'm fine," Jade said, doing a quick inventory of her body.

"I'm not," Smokey groaned from the floor.

As if just noticing him, Joey rushed to the Charmander's side. His friend's twitches were improving, but he still grunted in pain. Smokey cracked an eye open to look at his friend.

"What did we say about using electricity in the cave," Smokey asked, his voice regaining some strength.

Joey cracked a small smile. "Not to use it?"

"And what did you do?"

"I used it."

Smokey got to his feet. He nearly collapsed again when he put weight on his left leg. It was the leg that the Poochyena had bit, and it hurt like hell. He tried again to test the pain and it gave way fully.

Joey lunged, catching his friend mid-fall. Smokey stood on his good leg and Joey was able to stand again, supporting half his friend's weight.

"Thanks," Smokey murmured as Joey stood up.

"No problem, man," Joey grinned. "That's what friends are for."

Jade hovered in the air, watching them carefully. "Are you sure you can hold his weight, Joey? I mean, he is kind of bigger than you."

Joey glared at her. He didn't handle insults to his size very well. But holding Smokey upright after a tiring attack diminished him from wanting to use a scathing reply.

"I'm good, Jade," he grunted, adjusting his grip on Smokey's underarm.

Now that he got a better look at Jade, he could see that she wasn't as battered as the rest of them. Had she avoided the fight completely?

He was going to point this out when Smokey cut him off.

"Did you bring any Oran berries with you," his pained voice vaporized Joey's anger.

Smokey was covered in injuries much worse than Joey. The bite marks were terribly long and gushing blood. Jade quickly started rifling through the bag.

The rescue team didn't have their attention on the defeated ambushers. If they had, they would have noticed one of the Poochyena stand up on shaky legs. It was the one Jade had thrown off Smokey.

The Poochyena wanted flesh. His pack needed to feed, and the taste of blood still lingered in his mouth. If only his comrades weren't unconscious they could maybe kill one of them, but alone he was defeated.

His pack was still out there, waiting. Sounds travelled far in the cave. He took a step back and cried out in pain. One of his back legs was broken.

All three of their heads swivelled to the Poochyena. It stood on the edges of Smokey's light.

"Should we let it go?" Jade asked. She had paused in the middle of her search, her arm still buried in the bag.

"Yeah, I don't think it can do much," Smokey said in a quiet voice. His strength was being sapped by the pain. "With a broken leg it won't get far."

The Poochyena reared its head back suddenly and howled. The high-pitched wail cut through Joey's brain like a knife. He screamed, dropping Smokey in the process. Tears filled his eyes, his eardrums feeling like they'd burst from the magnitude of the howl.

He had to make it stop, but he was nowhere close to the Poochyena. That's when the Pikachu's instincts sprung to life inside him.

Barely thinking, Joey unleashed a massive lightning bolt at the wolf. A sharp crack followed, the boom of thunder, and the howling stopped.

The Poochyena's body slumped to the ground. Its head rolled a few metres before it came to rest in a small divot. The smell of burnt fur and seared flesh filled the corridor.

Joey sat down hard, his eyes fixed to the body. Where had that power come from? Where had his control gone? Whether he liked it or not, he killed another Pokémon, another living, thinking being. He wouldn't ever forget it.

Jade had landed, not being able to stay in the air during the howl. Her hands covered her mouth, holding in a sob. Smokey stared at his friend in silence, his utter disbelief showing through his pain.

Their looks only intensified the dread in Joey's mind. They must think that he was some kind of monster, a killer.

"I didn't mean to," he protested weakly. "I-I just wanted it to stop and I fired. I didn't know the attack would kill it..."

"It's okay, Joey. We know it was an accident," Jade said. By the look on Smokey's face, it seemed like he wanted to say something completely different.

A loud howl came from down the corridor, the same side where the dead body lay. The group stared in its direction as it was joined by more howls. They sounded like they were far away, but it was hard to tell with the echoes.

"What was that?" Joey asked.

Smokey gasped when he realized what had happened, his heart beating even faster. "It wasn't an attack. It was a call," he muttered to himself. It was loud enough for the others to pick up on it.

"Clarify please?" Jade said, not bothering to hide her fear from her voice.

Smokey fixed her with wide, horrified eyes. "The Poochyena. Its howl wasn't meant to hurt us. It was meant to call the rest of its pack."

Silence followed, making the howls seem even louder in comparison. Maybe they were actually getting louder because they were getting closer. Joey didn't know which one it was.

"We won't be able to take them," Joey said, the fight leaving him. "We nearly got killed by six of them. If the whole pack comes..."

The rest of the sentence didn't need to be finished. His friends all understood what would happen. They would be overwhelmed and killed, and that would be the end of Team Spartan.

"Well, we better not be here when they come then," Smokey said, attempting to stand.

"What do you have in mind?" Joey asked, a smile forming on his face. He stood, ducking under Smokey's arm to support the Charmander's weight.

"What do we always do when we're horribly outnumbered?"

"Run like little bitches?" Jade suggested. Smokey grinned and nodded. "We've been doing that a lot lately."

"And look how far it's got us," Joey laughed.

They started walking, which soon turned into a sprint. Smokey's longer legs made it easier for him to run upright. Even though it had been over a century since Joey had been human, he still remembered how to run on two legs. Jade flew behind them in case one of them were to fall.

"Hey, Smokey," Joey said to gain his friend's attention.

"Yeah?" Smokey grunted through gasps of air and pain.

"What's the plan if they catch us?"

"I don't have one."

"You serious?"

"Yeah, I'm trying really hard not to think about that possibility."

The corridor began to widen ahead to a new room. The ceiling expanded twenty feet over their heads. Stalagmites and stalactites were scattered across the room. Smokey enlarged his tail flame so the light covered the entire room. Their hearts fell at what they saw.

"What's your plan for this?" Jade asked nervously, spinning in circles.

Smokey shrugged with one shoulder. "There isn't one."

Around them were four solid walls, with one exit: the way they just came in.

They walked right into a trap.

"I guess this is where we make our last stand," Joey muttered, falling on all fours, leaving Smokey leaning on one leg.

Smokey felt tears welling up behind his eyes. They weren't from pain. They were from the utter despair he was feeling. He felt that the best way to die would be taking out a whole lot of Pokémon with him, but he didn't want to die. If he was given a choice to escape the cave at that moment, he would have taken it without hesitation.

The howls gradually increased in volume. No doubt they were getting closer now. He could hear individual barks and snarls from the entrance. Looking at his friends, he knew they were feeling it too.

Jade was still hovering in the air, ready for a fight. Her chest heaved as she tried to fight down sobs. Joey's face was pulled into a tight grimace, stretching the scar across his face.

Smokey couldn't stand the noises. He took a step back to try and get away from it. His foot didn't connect with ground, at least not right away. There was a small ledge a few inches down. Looking at his feet, he noticed what he landed on.

"No way," he gasped. "Guys! Come over here!"

"Dude, we're kinda about to fight 'til the death," Joey said. "We need to be ready for this."

"We might not have to fight. We might be able to live!"

That got their attention. Jade instantly flew over to Smokey. A more hesitant Joey followed soon after, giving a quick glance behind him at the entrance. His eyes grew wide when he saw what Smokey stepped in. They were so out of place in the cave, such a non-natural formation, that it took a while for Joey to process what they were.

Smokey was standing on a set of stairs, leading down to pitch darkness. They were set in a five foot by five foot square hole. Seven or eight steps were visible before they vanished into the darkness.

"Remember what Leaky said?" Smokey laughed in relief. "Find a hole or something to get to the next level."

"This definitely qualifies as 'something,'" Joey said. The never-ending darkness upset him. Just like the massive hole at the other end of the corridor, it looked like there wasn't a bottom.

Smokey arrived at the same solution. "I don't like this. What if they extend forever?"

"They're stairs, man, they have to lead somewhere," Joey reasoned, casting another glance behind him. The pack was only getting louder. Time was running out.

"Smokey, we have to go down there," Jade pleaded. "All of us won't make it out of this fight alive if we don't."

Smokey was stuck with a terrible choice: risk dying from an unknown fall, or die at the hands of a hungry pack of Poochyena. Needless to say, it was difficult to decide.

A loud bark gained the attention of the group. Their heads twisted as one to look behind them. Through the gloom, they could make out a shadow, one that was much larger than a Poochyena.

"Time's up!" Joey yelled. In the end, Smokey didn't have to make the choice. Joey stuck his leg out and kicked Smokey in the chest. The Charmander lost his balance easily and tumbled down the stairs. He vanished behind the veil of darkness, taking the light with him.

"Joey! What did you do?" Jade exclaimed. Her hands flew to her face, an action lost in the dark. "Why'd you kick him in?"

"I know that looked really bad, but I swear it was the right thing," Joey explained quickly. The light may have disappeared, but the howls were still getting louder. "We have to go down there, or we will die up here. You have to trust me."

"I'm scared. What if Smokey was right?"

"Then we'll die either way. Take my hand. We'll do it together."

Joey extended his hand to where he thought Jade was. A second later, he felt a hand close around his.

"You ready?" he asked, practically yelling it. There was a noise that sounded like a choked 'yes.' Joey didn't wait to clarify. He could almost feel the panting of the dogs as they entered the cave.

With a deep breath, he took a step forward and dragged Jade with him into the infinite darkness below.


	32. Lost in the Dark

Joey hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of him. The rock was damp and cool on his face. He opened his eyes and was relieved that he could actually see the rock.

"You kicked me," Smokey said from behind him. Joey rolled to face his friend, an apology at the ready. He was surprised by the look on Smokey's face. He didn't look even remotely angry, maybe even calm. The Charmander grinned at the shock on Joey's face. "Yeah, I'm surprised that I'm not pissed too. After a few minutes, I realized that if I stalled any longer, the pack would've been on us. You did the right thing, although it was a little harsh."

"So, you're not angry?" Joey asked, still unsure whether his friend was as calm as he appeared.

"Nah, I'm not," Smokey grinned. "Though that might just be the massive blood loss talking."

Joey couldn't help himself. He started to laugh, with Jade joining. He abruptly stopped when he saw how pale Smokey was. His orange skin was more of a cream colour.

"Oh, right. The blood loss," Joey said. "Jade, get him an Oran berry."

Jade, still laughing a bit, rummaged through the bag. A few seconds later, Smokey was munching on a blue berry as his wounds stitched themselves back together. Jade gave him another and he devoured that one too.

"That hit the spot," Smokey sighed, lying down and stretching. "I could almost fall asleep."

"You can rest later, dude," Joey said, kicking his friend awake. "We're still trapped in a cave with no way out, remember?"

"Yeah, and the stairs disappeared, so we can't get back up," Jade pointed to where the stairs had been. Her finger gestured to thin air. The space above them was solid rock. They all stared at the ceiling with unsurprised faces.

"That would explain why we aren't being torn apart by ferals," Smokey observed calmly. "Finally, something that works in our favour."

As if on cue, a loud howl came from their right. All three of them groaned loudly.

"You jinxed it, man," Joey whined. He fell on all fours. "So, what next? Fight or flight?"

"I'm up for flying," Jade said, raising a hand. Her face looked downcast when she noticed the Pikachu's position. "And I'm guessing Joey wants to fight."

"Hell yeah!"

"The choice is up to you, Smokey," Jade turned to the Charmander expectantly. "What are we doing?"

Smokey was dumbfounded, stumbling back a few steps. "Why do I have to decide?"

"Uh, 'cause you're the leader," Joey smirked, giving him a sideways look. "Duh."

"Since when?"

"Since this team started."

Smokey was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. This entire time, he was leading the team, when he thought they were just making it up as they went. He was saved from speaking by a shout from the darkness.

"_Holy CRAP!_"

The voice seemed to come from nowhere. Everyone's heads snapped up, peering into the void. It came from down the hallway. How far was unknown though.

"Did anybody else hear that?" Jade asked quietly.

Smokey waited for the Pokémon to shout again. As the cave fell silent, the Pokémon yelled once more.

"Yo! You guys gotta help me!"

It was much closer that time, and the voice seemed vaguely familiar. Smokey grabbed hold of his tail and brightened the flame, exposing much of the hallway. The increase in light also exposed the rapidly approaching ball.

"What the hell?" Joey muttered, watching the spinning red and white ball fly towards them.

"Why you guys just standin' there?" the ball screamed. Its voice sounded distorted, since half the words were being projected backwards. "_RUN!_"

Team Spartan stepped aside as the ball blasted pass them in a blur. They looked at each other quizzically, wondering what was with the ball, and why it was the sanest person they had met. A loud howl came from the darkness where the Pokémon came from. A howl very similar to the ones they heard on the floor above. That was all the encouragement the rescue team needed.

They turned and sprinted down the corridor. A few dozen paces away, a pair of white eyes was suspended in mid-air. A chill went down Smokey's spine and his pace slowed. The eyes reminded him too much of the Shadow Creatures.

He didn't know where he would rather risk his luck, but his teammates didn't slow down. He had to continue and hope for the best. As he ran, he flared up his tail, illuminating more of the cave in from of him and his friends.

A wall blocked their path, creating two paths to follow. The hovering eyes were revealed to be attached to someone. A dual coloured ball, red on the top, white on the bottom, bounced up and down by the split. His mechanical eyes shined with fear.

"C'mon, guys!" the Voltorb called. "Follow me, I know where to go!"

The ball shot down the left path, and Smokey skidded to a stop. Jade and Joey nearly ran into him.

"Smokey, what're you doing?" Joey exclaimed. "We _need _to follow him. He can get us out of this!"

"How do we know we can trust him?" Smokey challenged, all too aware of the howls getting louder.

"Well, for one, he's the only sane Pokémon we've seen in this cave," Jade said, her voice desperate. "He's the only one we _can_ trust."

Smokey was torn. Apparently, he was the leader, so he had to make a potentially life or death choice. He switched from corridor to corridor, his indecision eating away at him.

"Damn it!" he swore and started to the left. "Come on, let's catch up to him!"

Joey and Jade didn't complain about his choice. They were right behind him, sprinting through the twists and turns of the hall. Smokey's tail could only illuminate so much of the dark at once, and they were unable to see their Voltorb guide.

The halls all looked the same: featureless, wet, brown rock. Sometimes there was an occasional puddle that Smokey had to jump over, or a large stalactite hanging from the ceiling that they had to dodge. Nothing to indicate where to go next, while their pursuers only got closer and closer.

They ran pass a seemingly boring patch of moss covered rock and a familiar voice called out. "Yo! Back here guys!"

Smokey skidded to stop, Joey crashing into him from behind. The Voltorb poked his head out from a crevice in the rock that they missed in their hurry.

"C'mon, get in here!" he urged, twitching his whole body towards safety. "They be gettin' closer!"

Jade flew into the hiding spot without hesitation. The other two teammates did the same, squeezing behind the Voltorb and into the crevice. Smokey's tail was forced into a very uncomfortable position next to Joey, causing the Pikachu to yelp in pain.

"Dim that flame, bro," the Voltorb whispered. He nodded to the thin curtain of moss that hid the crevice. "They'll see's us from outside."

Joey watched the world from behind the moss fade from view as Smokey dimmed his tail. A dim glow remained, just enough so he could barely make out the terrified faces of his team.

His heart pounded in his chest as the snarls of the group chasing them got approached. He couldn't see them, but the mere thought of the unknown Pokémon chilled Joey to the bone. The howls only got closer, and Joey began to pick out other sounds from the noise. Padded footsteps on the rock, heavy panting, fur rustling.

Then something growled right outside their hiding place. The Pokémon had stopped and were sniffing around. They were tracking the scent and the trail had stopped. The rescue team turned to statues, not even daring to breathe should they make a noise. The moss curtain poked forward as one of their chasers sniffed it. It was all Joey could do not to scream.

Finally, the Pokémon left, convinced that their prey was still farther along the hall. What was seconds had felt like a lifetime for the four of them.

The sounds of their chasers were long gone when they finally moved. Jade burst into tears and the rescue team left their hiding place. Smokey reignited his flame to light up the area.

"Damn, that was too close," the Voltorb said, his relief all too evident. "Man, I never wanna do that again."

"Thanks, by the way," Smokey said, turning to the ball. "I don't know if we'd have survived if not for you. I'm Smokey, and this is my team."

The Voltorb gave him a quizzical look. "Eh... I already knew that. I remember you's guys from before." He looked at Jade. "Well, 'cept for her, of course."

"Wait, what?" Smokey's eyebrows shot up. "When was this?"

"Uh, the last time you's came down here. When else?"

"Still not following."

"Smokey, the last time we came to Thunderwave cave," Joey cut in. "Remember? The Voltorb got scared and blew up and trapped me in the cave. He's Sparks, the guy who freed me."

The Charmander looked from his friend to the Voltorb. "Is that true?"

"Spot on, bro," Sparks the Voltorb said. "How'd he know but you's didn't?"

"I've got a way with faces," Joey said with a wave of his hand. "Anyways, you mind telling us what the hell just happened?"

"Huh?"

"We're kind of confused," Jade said. It seemed she regained most of her composure, though her voice was still a little shaky. "What's happened here? Who just chased us? And why do you seem to be the only sane one here?"

"I wish I could tell you's, I really do, but I... I can't." Sparks said. He looked at the ground as his voice filled with sorrow. "I jus... I just don't know. When the earthquake hit, people started goin' crazy. The other Voltorbs, my crew, they started goin' berserk. Letting their power out everywhere! I booked it as fast as I could, try to find some help, but the Mightyena and Poochyena down here was goin' crazy also! The only one that seemed okay was lil' Hype. So I took him and I be tryin' to keep him safe from all those psychos but..."

Joey looked around for their supposed fifth party member as the Voltorb trailed. However, only the three members of the Team Spartan and Sparks were around.

"Sparks... but what?" Joey began slowly. "Where's Hype now?"

If machines could cry, Sparks would have been sobbing. "I lost him, man. I... I tried my best to protect the kid, but those crazies be _fast_. We be lookin' for food in the tunnels for Hype, 'cause, you know, the kid needed to eat, and those suckers just came outta nowhere. I didn't think about it. I just ran. I'd told Hype once to meet back here 'case we got separated or somethin, but he never came back."

In the second of silence that followed, Team Spartan became psychics for a brief period of time. There was an unspoken agreement on what needed to be done.

"Well, I guess we need to find him then," Smokey said, his teammates nodding.

"Really?" Sparks asked, his voice cracking. "You's guys would do that?"

"We are a rescue team, after all," Jade said. "It's what we do."

"Yeah, getting hopelessly lost in magical caves is only part of our job," Joey added. He yelped in pain after Smokey punched him in the shoulder and quickly returned the gesture.

"You remember where you last saw Hype?" Smokey asked the Voltorb, rubbing his arm. That punch was going to bruise.

Sparks rocked his body in a nod. Some of the fire returned to his eyes as his hope was renewed. "Hell yeah, I do! C'mon, I'll lead's the way."

They traced their way through the endless maze of stone corridors. Smokey shone his tail flame in dark spots to brighten them up, while Sparks used spotlights that doubled as his eyes. Jade alternated between calling for Hype, and scanning the area for the Poochyena. And Joey, well, he was lost in his own mind.

He reflected back on the fight on the previous floor. The one where he decapitated a Pokémon with a lightning bolt. He was still shaken up from the fight. It wasn't the first time he'd killed in self-defense, and he didn't mean to severe the thing's head. He'd been in plenty fights before that, as a Pokémon and human. But it wasn't the threat of death that bothered him, or the fact that he killed someone.

He was scared because he was getting used to killing.

He didn't want to become that type of person. One that just killed without remorse. But he couldn't deny it; every time he saw someone die, whether friend or foe, it became easier and easier to deal with. Getting used to the idea of death is what scared him the most.

He looked up from the ground to talk to Smokey about it, to get some reassurance. He stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw.

He was alone. It was pitch black in the corridor. No flame from Smokey's tail, no light from Sparks' spotlights. Only a black void greeted him. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Jade calling out for Hype, and the constant drip of water threatened to drive him insane.

"Oh, this isn't good," Joey muttered to himself. Lost in a dangerous cave by himself was never good, and his friends were far away. If he got attacked, he was screwed. He needed to get them to find him. He opened his mouth to call out to them, but was cut off by a new sound.

Someone was whimpering, and it was close by. Joey didn't know how far away it was, but the noise was coming from the opposite direction his friends were in.

He was torn on the decision. Calling out to his friends would be safer than wandering blindly through the maze. However, that would possibly alert whoever was crying just behind him.

Screw it. He didn't want to take the risk. He slowly began to back up, careful not to make any noise.

Too bad he couldn't see anything. His foot suddenly didn't feel any ground beneath it and dropping into a ditch full of water. Joey fell flat on his back, making a huge splash and cursed loudly.

The cave returned to silence. Water continued to drip, but that was the only thing Joey heard. The sobbing had stopped.

Joey jumped to his feet, every muscle in his body tensed. Whatever it was now knew he was here. No point in going for secrecy at this point.

"Guys!" he yelled in the direction he thought his friends were. "I'm gonna need some help over-OOF!"

Something hit him in the gut midsentence, sending him crashing into the rock. The furry projectile jumped off him, scampering into the dark. It wasn't gone for good. Joey could hear its soft growls only a few feet away.

"So that's how it's gonna be, eh?" Joey growled. "Well, come on then! Bring it!"


End file.
